Background: Globally an estimated 287 000 maternal deaths occurred in 2010.
Methodology: The study was observational descriptive one aimed to estimate maternal mortality ratio in Assiut Governorate in 2009 and to highlight both avoidable and non-avoidable causes of maternal deaths in order to formulate the appropriate strategies to overcome the avoidable causes of maternal mortality in Assiut Governorate. The relevant data of the study obtained through secondary analysis of data of maternal mortality records obtained from Assiut Health Directorate (Maternal and Child Health Department), 2009. Data of maternal deaths collected by the concerned medical staff through a special questionnaire designed by Ministry of Health and population (Maternal Mortality Surveillance System),this questionnaire covered all demographic data of the target women, place, date and time of death relative to pregnancy (i.e. during abortion, labor, puerperium), full obstetric history and meticulous detail of last pregnancy, type of obstetric care delivered to the target woman (i.e. place & time of initiation of last labor, associated complications, outcome of the baby …..etc).
Results: Maternal mortality Ratio in Assiut Governorate in 2009 was 68 / 100,000 live births, about 44% of these deaths happened during perperium and 24% during pregnancy. 34.6% of deaths occurred at home and 25.3% occurred among nulli-prous women. Only 14% of women completed their antenatal care visits while about one-half of cases (51.5%) seek antenatal care once or twice. Hypertensive diseases of pregnancy was the first direct cause of death (27.1%), followed by unexpected sudden death which may be due to pulmonary embolism (18.6%), then postpartum hemorrhage (16.9%) and puerperal sepsis (11.9%).
Conclusion: Maternal mortality still represents a major public health problem in Upper Egypt