Analysis of maternal mortality in Isfahan , Iran: A case series study

Abstract

Introduction: According to international agreement, all pregnant women mortalities are unacceptable since many of them are preventable. Therefore, reviewing and analyzing the root causes of maternal mortality to find the causes prevents repetition of the possible defects and modifies processes. This study using root cause analysis (RCA) aims to determine the causes of maternal mortalities. Materials and Methods: This research is a case series study. The required data were collected from the files of dead mothers, and the interviews were conducted with the relevant human resources. The causes of maternal mortality were determined according to the opinions of the experts and through a checklist of RCA. The causes consisted of the factors related to health services (human and structural factors), sociofamilial status, and the medical conditions of the dead mothers. Results: In this study, human factors including factors related to health services were introduced as the main defects of services related to the death of the pregnant women. Structural factors, family status, and medical conditions were, respectively, the other influential factors. The root of all these errors was identified to be managerial factors at academic and ministerial levels. Discussion and Conclusion: According to the obtained results, the importance of human resources should be considered specifically to enhance job performance and minimize their errors through manager's planning. Doing this will promote health, and reduce morbidity, disability, and mortality in both mothers and newborns.