Medicina Comunitária e Educação em Saúde

Abstrato

Study of Referral Pattern of Women for Safe Confinement to a Tertiary Care, Government Teaching Hospital in Karnataka

Manjunatha SN, Chandrakumar SG, Moray KV, Revathi Devi ML

Introduction: The focus of NRHM is to reduce maternal and child morbidity and mortality with emphasis on rural health care. The major strategies under RCH-II are: Essential Obstetric care, Institutional delivery, skilled attendant at a delivery place, Emergency Obstetric care, Operationalising FRUs and Operationalising PHCs and CHCs for 24- hour delivery services (2). With the above background, we tried to determine the criteria for referral of obstetric cases to our hospital. The study will help reviewing the structure and pattern of referrals. 1. Objectives: To study the obstetric and socio-economic profiles of study subjects. 2. To study the referral criteria adopted by peripheral institutions and doctors. 3. To study the maternal and perinatal outcome of referrals. Materials and methods: Cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital among 30 pregnant women referred from periphery for safe confinement. Criteria for referral, mode of delivery and immediate outcome was studied. Results: Absence of doctors in the periphery was the most common cause for referral. Among the cases referred 46% belonged to low risk group Conclusion: 24/7 emergency obstetric care as envisaged in yet to be achieved.