Maternal near miss and maternal deaths in Mozambique: a cross-sectional, region-wide study of 635 consecutive cases assisted in health facilities of Maputo province.

Background: Life-threatening events during pregnancy are currently used as a measure to assess quality of obstetric care. The aim of this study is to assess prevalence of near miss cases and maternal deaths, to elucidate the causes and to analyze avoidable factors based upon the three-delays approach in southern Mozambique.

Methods: Near miss cases comprised five categories: eclampsia, severe hemorrhage, severe sepsis, uterine rupture and severe malaria.