DefinePK

Abstract

Study Aim: The Millennium Development Goal (MDG)- 5 mandates a three quarters reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and provision of universal access to reproductive health by 2015. Our study aims to analyze Qatar’s performance in achieving MDG 5 between 1990 and 2012.Study Design: A National Prospective cohort-studyData Source: Qatar Perinatal Registry (Q-Peri-Reg) for 2011 and 2012 dataMethods: National data on total deliveries, total births (live and stillbirths) and maternal mortality (during pregnancy to day 42 post-delivery) was collected from all public and private maternity units in Qatar (1st January 2011- December, 31st 2012) and compared with historical maternal mortality data (1990-2010) ascertained from the database of maternity and neonatal units of Women’s Hospital, annual reports of Hamad Medical Corporation and international reports. For inter country comparison, country data was extracted from World Health Statistics 2011(WHO).Results: The country wide live births were 20583 during 2011 and 22,225 during 2012 with two maternal deaths duringeach year giving an MMR of 9.85/100,000 and 8.99/100,000 live births respectively which was more than three quarters decline from an MMR of 49/100,000 in 1990. During 2011, 74.22% deliveries were normal vaginal (n 15076) and 25.78% (n 5238) by Caesarean section. 99.45 % of deliveries were attended by a trained birth attendant in a maternity facility while 0.55 % (n = 114) took place out of hospital. 100% of mothers had made at least one antenatal visit and 100% of live births were examined by a pediatrician and entered in national birth register. Qatar’s 2011 and 2012 MMR is significantly lower than the current global MMR of 260/100,000 and Eastern Mediterranean Region MMR of 320/100,000.Conclusion: Qatar has achieved its target MDG 5 well before 2015. Qatar’s 2011 and 2012 MMR is comparable to most high income countries. Qatar’s reproductive health system, with its universal access for all, provides a unique model to study the correlates and associations of maternal survival which can form the basis of global health systems improvement strategies.