Causes of maternal death in the Espírito Santo state, Brazil: trend, spaciality and incompatibilities

Abstract

Introduction: Since the 1970s, several laws and programs have been developed with the aim of strengthening the maternal and child health policy, however maternal death, mainly from preventable causes, remains an important public health problem. Objective: To describe the temporal trend of maternal mortality in Espírito Santo (ES) in the spatial and main causes, from 2006 to 2015. Methods: The maternal deaths identified in the Mortality Information System were categorized by cause. After the identification of causes, of deaths were classified as direct and indirect. Results: The average age at which maternal death occurred was 27.9 ± 7.5 standard deviation and median age of 28. The majority of the deaths were brown women (57,8%), single women (57,4%), housewives (43.7%), and four to 11 years of study (78,1%), with predominance of deaths in the puerperal period (63,1%). The biggest reasons for maternal death were in small municipalities (<14 thousand inhabitants). The most common causes of death were related to hypertensive (21.2%) and hemorrhagic syndromes in the first half of pregnancy (14.9%) and complications in the puerperium (8.6%). The incompatibilities after the investigation of deaths by the Maternal Death Committee were 27% (90 deaths). Conclusion: The most vulnerable women were the ones who died the most, so the analysis of maternal deaths is essential for qualifying health care and reducing preventable deaths.