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Question 653
Clinical Management → Clinical Practice
Classification
Question
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Maternal mortality findings
Question Stem
Which statement best reflects the 2010–12 maternal mortality report ?
Options
A
Most deaths were from direct obstetric causes and few women had pre-existing disease
B
Two-thirds of women died from indirect causes and almost three-quarters had pre-existing medical or mental complications
C
Indirect deaths fell significantly while direct deaths were unchanged
D
Sepsis was absent from the reported maternal deaths
E
Influenza was not identified among causes of maternal death
Explanation
two-thirds of women died from indirect causes and almost three-quarters of all women who died had pre-existing medical and mental complications. It also reports that almost a quarter had sepsis and one in 11 died from flu.
Option Validity
A) The report described the opposite pattern: two-thirds of deaths were indirect and many women had pre-existing medical or mental complications.
C) direct deaths fell while there had been no significant change in indirect maternal deaths over the previous 10 years.
D) Sepsis was prominent: almost a quarter of women who died had sepsis.
E) Influenza was identified: one in 11 women died from flu.
Further Reading
Saxena MRCOG-1 Basic Sciences — Principles of Clinical Practice, printed p. 6.