Abstract

Introduction:Globally, puerperal sepsis is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. It is the 2nd leading cause of maternal deaths in Bangladesh.
Objective:The study was designed to identify the common socio-economic and demographic factors related to puerperal sepsis presented at tertiary level hospitals in Bangladesh.
Methodology:A case control study was conducted between April 2011 and December 2011 in two tertiary level hospitals (Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Sir Salimullah Medical Collage Hospital). 35 cases who met the criteria of WHO for puerperal sepsis was included in the study as the cases while 105 cases were selected from the same hospitals as control participants. Both cases and controls were between 15 to 40 years old. Frequency distributions and calculation of means, standard deviation and Odds Ratio were done. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis was also performed to find out the association between independent and dependent variables.
Results:Puerperal sepsis is significantly associated with the age <25 years (or: 5.22; ci 2.25-12.08); respondent’s education Conclusion:Findings of this study could be the knowledge-base for the policy makers in addressing this unrecognized health burden in a holistic approach, thus achieving the SDG target 3 considering integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs by the year of 2030.