Quiz 4: Maternal and perinatal mortality audits

Please choose the one, most correct answer to each question or statement.

1. Why conduct an audit of health care?
   • It is a legal requirement.
   • It is the best method of identifying clinical problems.
   • It guarantees improved health care.
   • To calculate the funds needed to manage a health care service.
2. What is a maternal care audit?
   • A review of problems which occur during the care of pregnant women.
   • An investigation to determine the number of nurses needed to provide antenatal care.
   • A list of women who die during labour and delivery.
   • A training course for midwives.
3. What is a perinatal care audit?
   • A list of common causes of stillbirth.
   • A list of important causes of early neonatal death.
   • An assessment of care given to infants before, during and after delivery.
   • A review of maternal problems during labour and delivery.
4. At a perinatal mortality meeting:
   • Only maternal deaths are discussed.
   • Only stillbirths are discussed.
   • Only neonatal deaths are discussed.
   • Maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths are discussed.
5. Who should attend a perinatal mortality meeting?
   • All the staff.
   • Only doctors.
   • Only the midwives.
   • The senior medical and nursing staff.
6. Who usually arranges a perinatal mortality meeting?
   • The local magistrate.
   • The paediatric intern.
   • The senior pathologist.
   • A senior member of the obstetric staff.
7. How often should a perinatal mortality meeting be held?
   • Every day.
   • Once a week to once a month.
   • Once a year.
   • Whenever a maternal death occurs.
8. What routine information should be presented at a perinatal mortality meeting?
   • The number of normal, assisted and Caesarean deliveries.
   • Only the total number of deliveries.
   • The number of infants receiving phototherapy.
   • The number of women with prolonged labour.
9. How should information be presented at a perinatal mortality meeting?
   • The folders should be photocopied and read by all the participants.
   • The patient records should be summarised and distributed a week before the meeting.
   • The clinical records should be summarised and presented at the meeting.
   • The history and examination should be presented from memory.
10. Is confidentially important in a perinatal mortality meeting?
    • The mother’s name should not be mentioned.
    • The hospital or clinic’s name should not be mentioned.
    • The content and discussion should be confidential.
    • Confidentiality is not important as long as the names of the staff concerned are not mentioned.
11. What is meant by a ‘near miss’ at a mortality meeting?
    • A perinatal mortality meeting which was almost cancelled due to a lack of support.
    • A threatened miscarriage which was prevented with good treatment.
    • A missed opportunity to prevent a maternal death.
    • A very ill patient who nearly died.
12. Why should ‘great saves’ be mentioned at a perinatal mortality meeting?
    • They remind the staff that most patients received good care.
    • They compensate for staff errors which resulted in a perinatal death.
    • They prevent the medical superintendent from criticising particular staff at the meeting.
    • They encourage all the staff to attend.
13. A perinatal mortality meeting is:
    • An excellent opportunity for learning how best to care for mothers and infants.
    • Should not be used for teaching nurses and doctors.
    • Is usually boring and a waste of time.
    • Is outdated and no longer necessary.
14. How is a perinatal mortality report prepared?
    • It should be written before the perinatal mortality meeting.
    • A special form is used to record the main findings of each death discussed at the meeting.
    • Only the details of maternal deaths are needed for the report.
    • Maternal and neonatal deaths but not stillbirths should be included in the report.
15. What is the Perinatal Problem Identification Programme?
    • A supplementary manual of PEP.
    • A programme to train medical students.
    • A computer-based system of analysing the causes of maternal and perinatal deaths.
    • A computer programme to record research information.
16. What is the goal of the Perinatal Problem Identification Programme?
    • To determine the causes of maternal and perinatal deaths.
    • To look for avoidable factors.
    • To seek solutions.
    • All of the above.
17. At a feedback meeting:
    • Parents are told the cause of their infant’s death.
    • The results of a perinatal audit are discussed with the staff.
    • Errors made by the staff are reported to the medical superintendent.
    • The result of a post mortem examination is made available to the magistrate.
18. How are sites for gathering perinatal data usually grouped?
    • In metropolitan, city and town, and rural areas.
    • Into areas with high or low perinatal mortality rates.
    • Into coastal and inland sites.
    • Into sites with a high or low socioeconomic status.
19. Intrapartum hypoxia is a common cause of perinatal death in rural areas, suggesting that:
    • All women should be delivered in town.
    • Most women should be delivered by a doctor.
    • Use of a partogram is not helpful.
    • Labour management of often poor.
20. What is the Saving Babies Report?
    • A textbook on newborn care.
    • A report on the number of infants under 5 years who die each year.
    • A review of perinatal deaths and avoidable factors.
    • A report on causes of cot deaths.