Preparedness to deal with maternal mortality among obstetric providers at an urban tertiary hospital in Ghana

Objective: This study explores the impacts of managing frequent maternal mortalities on obstetric healthcare providers in Ghana.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy obstetric providers at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana completed an electronic survey. Questions included coping strategies, sources and adequacy of support, training, and emotional impact. Logistic regression assessed predictors of perceived preparedness to manage maternal mortalities.

Results: Over half of participants (55.1%) did not report adequate support to deal with maternal death and only 35.9% received training. The vast majority (96.4%) agreed that managing maternal deaths takes a large emotional toll-27.6% considered giving up their obstetric practice, half experienced guilt or shame, and half worried about legal or disciplinary action. After adjusting for age, gender, years in practice, and annual maternal mortalities managed, perceived adequacy of support (odds ratio [OR] 6.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.0-14.7, P < 0.001) and receiving training (OR 9.5, 95% CI 3.5-25.8, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with preparedness to deal with maternal mortality.

Conclusion: Managing maternal mortalities has significant emotional impact on obstetric healthcare providers. Preparedness to deal with maternal death is significantly improved when providers receive adequate support and training.