Qatar's maternal mortality rates at par with western world

A major national study on maternal and neonatal health reveals maternal mortality rates (MMRs) in Qatar are at par with those in the Western world. About 20,300 deliveries took place in Qatar during 2011, according to the annual report of the Perinatal Neonatal Outcomes Research Study in the Arabian Gulf (PEARL Study), a three-year research project being led by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). Most or 16,781 of the births took place at Women's Hospital (a member hospital of HMC). It is estimated that for every 100,000 live births in the country, about 9.85 of the delivering mothers may succumb to death during childbirth or within 42 days after - a figure which is far lower than those in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, with MMRs of 24 and 12, respectively. Qatar also has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates among the GCC member countries, and shows promise of following European and Scandinavian countries, which have some of the lowest MMRs worldwide. The PEARL Study is now in its second year and is a joint collaborative venture with the University of Gloucestershire, UK. The research study is funded and supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), and aims at creating Qatar's unique National Perinatal Registry (Q-Peri Reg). This registry will provide an extensive database on maternal and neonatal healthcare which will help in designing strategic guidelines to improve care processes in Qatar and other regional countries. The Q-Peri-Reg will also provide an authentic basis for further research in maternal and neonatal healthcare, and will be a resource for health finance and strategic health development experts. The UK-based software company Dendrite Clinical Systems designed the database. "This registry is a unique asset for Qatar as similar databases can only be found in Canada or British Columbia. Qatar is also the first among the GCC countries to acquire such a resource," according to the PEARL Study team lead Dr Sajjad Rahman, Senior Consultant of Perinatal Medicine at Women's Hospital. The research study is being carried out by a team of highly dedicated researchers at public and private hospitals across Qatar, including Women's Hospital and Al Khor Hospital from HMC, Al Ahli Hospital, Doha Clinic and Al Emadi Hospital. 100 percent of the data have been successfully retrieved and analyzed during 2011 from all the health facilities included in the city.