Maternity deaths highest in last six years – Ramsammy

Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy today said that the recent spike in maternal deaths would make it the highest figure in the past six to seven years.

“This year would be the highest, not the highest in our history the highest in the last six ten years,” Minister Ramsammy told reporters this afternoon.

In the early nineties the country saw about 40 maternal deaths a year but in recent years it was brought down to about 12 to 17.

“Our target this year was twelve and we are now around eighteen,” he said.

The minister said that the country had been on target to achieve that goal up to September this year  but there have been eight deaths since. Last year there were twelve maternal deaths countrywide.

Those who died recently were Marion Bristol, who was transferred from the Linden Hospital Complex and who died at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) on Monday night after giving birth to a baby girl and Monica Carmichael who delivered a still-born baby girl via c-section at the same hospital. Carmichael was transferred from the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Leslie Ramsammy
Leslie Ramsammy