The Study of Maternal Death Problems in the Three Southern Border Provinces, Thailand, 2018- 2023

Abstract

Maternal mortality rates in Thailand have risen. The main cause of deaths was postpartum hemorrhage. High blood pressure from pregnancy, etc., is a problem that affects the family. The objectives of this study were to investigate the causes of maternal death in the three southern border provinces from 2018 to 2023, to investigate ways to prevent maternal death in the three southern border provinces, and to investigate policy recommendations to address the problem of maternal death from pregnancy in the three southern border provinces. It was conducted as a descriptive study based on retrospective data (retrospective examination) from the reports of five general hospitals and regional hospitals in the three southern border provinces, community hospitals in the three southern border provinces, and Health Promoting Hospital No. 12, Yala Province, Department of Health, as well as the information received from government supervision and the patient profiles of mothers who died in various hospitals from October 2018 to September 2023. The study found that more than half of all deaths were due to potentially preventable factors, such as postpartum hemorrhage, infection, and high blood pressure from pregnancy. Therefore, in developing maternal and child health work, work should be done to develop the quality system of service provision, such as by creating an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for maternal and child health management to help with surveillance and prevention of maternal deaths. In addition, the potential of personnel should be developed; for example, there should be rehabilitation training on problems that are risks or problems that cause maternal death at least once a year in order to be able to reduce the rate of maternal death as much as possible.