Postpartum haemorrhage and sepsis accounted for most maternal mortalities in the city until 2019, but since the outbreak of novel Coronavirus in March 2020, the respiratory disease became the top reason behind the deaths. In 2021, Covid-19 caused one in every four maternal deaths. According to the experts, delay in medical attention was the main factor in Covid-related fatalities among pregnant women. They listed out precautionary measures to avoid further fatalities.

Dr Niranjan Chavan, president of Mumbai Obstetric & Gynaecological Society, said “The delay in seeking treatment and late referral leads to the death of 89 per cent of women. During Covid-19, we didn’t have the rapid antigen test initially , so we depended on RT-PCR report that took time. We have also observed that 83 per cent of the patients were referred from other hospitals. Lack of management also contributed to the deaths.