Verbal Autopsy of a Maternal Death in Rural Area of Punjab, India

The death of a woman during pregnancy, at delivery, or soon after delivery is tragic not only for her family but for society as a whole.The case report is of a 32-year-old elderly primigravidae from Amritsar district, married to 27-year-old illiterate laborer who allegedly was a drug addict.She got registered in a government center where she was found to have severe anemia.She delivered a female by normal vaginal delivery (NVD) in the tertiary care center.Approximately 8 hours post-delivery she complained of pain in the abdomen.After examination, she was immediately shifted to the operation theatre where she passed clots and died 13 hours after delivery due to excessive bleeding despite all efforts to save her.The case report highlights the concentration of maternal deaths among poor women.Such maternal deaths can be prevented if antenatal care visits are used as an opportunity to understand the social causes operating at individual, family, and community levels and provide counseling for women to cope with them.