Quality Assessment of Maternal Death Review: A Pilot Study in 10 High Priority Districts of Odisha State, India

BACKGROUND: Maternal death review (MDR) is a strategy that helps in identifying gaps in the care of a pregnant mother. OBJECTIVES: The objective is to assess the quality of MDR, causes of maternal mortality, and finding corrective action in 10 high-priority districts of Odisha. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MDR was undertaken by our team in 4-month timeline (August to November 2014). It included the development of tools, desk reviews, training of staffs, and data handling. The maternal deaths were estimated from the Annual Health Survey. It was compared to estimated maternal death of each district to get the under reporting/over reporting districts. A report was generated on MDR process indicators and program indicators after completion of the assessment. RESULTS: Only 129 (52%) of the 247 deaths found suitable for community-based MDR. The proportion of maternal death reported versus estimated was 247 versus 367. Correct diagnoses were reported in 120 cases. The classification of deaths was not mentioned in 74 cases. Maximum deaths (55%) were in 18–25 years of age group (the most common cause being anemia). Majority (50%) of the deaths occurred during the postnatal period and majority (67%) at the health facility. Only 61 (47%) had received antenatal check-ups. Facility-based MDR showed, Type 1 delay (denotes about seeking care) being the most common (53%). Inaccurate and incomplete information available was also found to compound the above problems in addition. CONCLUSIONS: The present study could contribute to a larger extent to address some of the gaps in the MDR process in the Odisha state.