Status of Obstetric Morbidities in Maharashtra

Introduction: Obstetric (maternal) morbidity is any health condition attributed to and/or aggravated by pregnancy and childbirth that has a negative impact on the woman's wellbeing. Its prevalence status and trend in Maharashtra is reviewed to inform the medical fraternity.

Method: Literature search with keywords was carried out through computerized databases - Pubmed, Cochrane library and Google for the studies conducted in the last two decades. State and central health ministry websites were searched for relevant service records (HMIS). The findings of studies and databases were compiled, tabulated and interpreted to describe the status of obstetric morbidities in Maharashtra.

Results: Studies for review were found to be very limited. The major acute obstetric morbidities were Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (2% to 7.8%); Eclampsia (0.25% to 0.60%); Post-partum haemorrhage (3.2%); Antepartum haemorrhage (4.1%); and Obstructed labour (1.9%). Major chronic obstetric morbidities were Genital Prolapse (0.9% to 7.1%); Chronic PID (2.5%); Secondary infertility (1.7%); and Genital fistula (0.08% to 1.6%). A high level of anaemia (69.5%) with severe anemia (12%) is prevalent among women. Over the last five years, there has been good improvement in maternal health indicators in Maharashtra indicating a possible reduction in the level of obstetric morbidities.

Conclusion: The availability of very few studies for review limits the conclusive evidence on the current magnitude of obstetric morbidities in Maharashtra; however, it does indicate the existence of major obstetric morbidities. Fresh studies are needed to capture the current status within the improving background of maternal health indicators.