Résumé :
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[BDSP. Notice produite par INIST wR0xWKoj. Diffusion soumise à autorisation]. Background In developing countries with scanty resources it is very important to have reliable data to establish priorities for the health sector ; e.g. to reduce maternal mortality it is necessary to determine the most important causes. The majority of deaths, however, occur without previous contact with the health system and consequently conventional analyses of death certificates are not feasible. Instead, studies have been carried out in some developing countries with various forms of post-mortem interviews, the so-called verbal autopsies (VA). Methods We developed a structured interview with filter questions, which was applied to all deaths of women of fertile age in a cohort of 10 000 women living in 100 clusters in Guinea-Bissau and followed over a period of 6 years. The cause of death was ascertained by means of a series of diagnostic algorithms for the most common causes of maternal mortality, including postpartum haemorrhage, antepartum haemorrhage, puerperal infection, obstructed labour, eclampsia, abortion, and ectopic pregnancy. Results Of the 350 deaths of women of fertile age, 32% were maternal and it seems unlikely that a significant proportion of maternal deaths have not been classified correctly. Using the diagnostic algorithm 70% could be given a specific diagnosis, the most important causes being postpartum haemorrhage (42% [29/69]), obstructed labour (19% [13/69] and puerperal infection (16% 111/69]). (...)
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