Maternal mortality in Bahrain 1987-2004: an audit of causes of avoidable death

The aim of this report was to establish the national maternal mortality rate in Bahrain over the period 1987-2004, to identify preventable factors in maternal deaths and to make recommendations for safe motherhood. There were 60 maternal deaths out of 243 232 deliveries giving an average maternal mortality rate of 24.7 per 100 000 total births. The main causes of death were sickle-cell disease [25.0%], hypertension [18.3%], embolism [13.3%], haemorrhage [13.3%], heart disease [11.7%], infection [8.3%] and other [10.0%]. In an audit of care, 17 [28.3%] out of 60 deaths were judged to be avoidable, nearly half of which were due to a shortage of intensive care beds. We recommend that a confidential enquiry of maternal deaths be conducted at the national level every 3 to 5 years

Outcomes of pregnancies complicated by early vaginal bleeding

The association between early gestational bleeding and suboptimal pregnancy outcome was examined. Postpartum women were interviewed during January-October 1998 at the two main obstetric hospitals in Alexandria, Egypt. Of 1503 singleton deliveries, 10.6% reported bleeding; 63.5% and 36.5% during first and second trimesters respectively. Bleeding was more frequent among women of age >33 years, with history of low-birth-weight babies or previous miscarriage. Suboptimal outcomes occurred more often among women reporting bleeding than among those who never bled and the risk of such outcomes significantly increased with second trimester bleeding. Risk of a low-birth-weight baby, preterm delivery and perinatal death significantly decreased with increasing interpregnancy interval for women with first trimester or second trimester bleeding