An Analysis of Institutional Maternal Death Audit Reports in the Western Region of Ghana

Institutional maternal deaths in the Western Region of Ghana increased from 133 in 2011 to 150 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014. We reviewed available audit reports on deaths that occurred in 2014 in order to identify priorities for improvement. We undertook a manual search for audit reports and used a structured questionnaire to extract information on the sociodemographic characteristics of patients and the circumstances of care and death. We entered and analyzed the data using EPI-INFO (v.7). Analysis was largely descriptive. Audit reports were available for 75% of the 93 deaths recorded in the region in 2014. The mean (SD) age of death was 28 (±8) yrs. The majority (80%) involved women who made at least three Antenatal Clinic (ANC) visits. Hypertensive diseases (35.8%), hemorrhage (31.3%) and sepsis (7.5%) were the leading causes of death. Most (82%) deaths occurred in hospitals, with almost 75% after 24 hours of arrival. Data completeness and consistency were the major limitations in the analysis. There is a need to improve institutional maternal health care in the region, with interventions designed to address the causes of maternal deaths and to improve the survival of mothers and babies ultimately.