Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response

MPDSR is targeted at eliminating preventable maternal and perinatal mortality by obtaining and using information on each maternal and perinatal death to guide public health actions and monitor their impacts.
MPDSR expands on ongoing efforts to provide information that can be used to develop programmes and interventions for reducing maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality and improve access and quality of care that women and babies receive during pregnancy, delivery, and the puerperium.
MPDSR presents a rare opportunity for gathering information and allows for its strategic use in guiding public health actions and monitoring the impact of those actions. Effective implementation of MPDSR can directly impact the quality of care and improve maternal and perinatal health outcomes.
The findings generated from the MPDSR process can be used to increase awareness of women and their needs. The evidence and stories behind the maternal and perinatal deaths are the ingredients for powerful and effective advocacy for saving mothers’ and babies’ lives

Programme Objectives

1. To notify and collect accurate data on all maternal and perinatal deaths in the country, including:
a) Identification of all maternal and perinatal deaths.
b) Notification and reporting of all maternal and perinatal deaths.
c) Determine the causes of death, contributing factors and review all maternal and perinatal deaths (using facility records and/or verbal autopsies)
2. To analyze and interpret data collected, in respect of:
a) Trends in maternal and perinatal mortality
b) Causes of death (medical) and contributing factors (quality of care, barriers to care, non-medical factors e.g. socio-cultural, religious, health seeking behaviour, e.t.c);
c) Focusing on those factors that can be remedied;
d) Risk factors, groups at increased risk and maps of maternal and perinatal deaths;
e) Demographic and socio-political and religious factors
3. To use the data to make evidence-based recommendations for action to decrease maternal and perinatal mortality. Recommendations could be related to :-
a) community education and involvement;
b) timeliness of referrals;
c) access to and delivery of services;
d) quality of care;
e) training needs of healthcare personnel or protocols use;
f) deployment of resources where they are likely to have impact;
g) regulations and policy;
h) billing and cost of care, emergency services; and
i) advocacy for MNCH interventions.

4. To disseminate findings and recommendations to civil society and health personnel.
5. To ensure actions take place, by monitoring the implementation of recommendations.
6. To inform programmes on the effectiveness of interventions and their impact on maternal and perinatal mortality, including feedback.
7. To allocate resources more effectively and efficiently by identifying specific needs.
8. To enhance accountability for maternal and perinatal health.
9. To improve maternal and perinatal mortality statistics and move towards attaining complete civil registration and vital statistic records.
10. To guide and prioritize research related to maternal and perinatal health.
11. To strengthen referrals and linkages across the levels of care.

Programme Staffing

Position		Name
MPDSR focal person		Mrs Mojisola Olaniyi	More Details