Risk factors for reported obstetric complications and near misses in rural northwest Bangladesh: analysis from a prospective cohort study

Table 1 Operational definitions of obstetric complication and near misses by type of pregnancy outcome

Category	Obstetric complication	Near miss
Live Births or stillbirths - Complications during delivery
Postpartum hemorrhage	Report of profuse bleeding OR Retained placenta	Report of nearly dying + Profuse bleeding
Postpartum hemorrhage	Sensitivity: 63-84%, Specificity: 89-97%	Report of nearly dying + Profuse bleeding
Eclampsia	Convulsions (excluding epilepsy) and NO high fever	Report of nearly dying + Convulsions (excluding epilepsy) and NO high fever
Eclampsia	Sensitivity: 73-99%, Specificity: 86-99%
Sepsis	High fever + foul-smelling vaginal discharge OR high fever + lower abdominal pain	Report of nearly dying + High fever
Sepsis	Sensitivity: 69-74%, Specificity: 95-98%	Report of nearly dying + High fever
Obstructed Labor	(Report of baby stuck + use of saline drip with injection) OR (report of baby stuck + injection only) OR labor pains >24 hours	Report of nearly dying + (Report of baby stuck + use of saline drip with injection) OR (report of baby stuck + injection only) OR labor pains >24 hours
Obstructed Labor	Sensitivity: 56-70%, Specificity: 99-100%
Induced abortions or miscarriages
Category	Obstetric complication	Near miss
Hemorrhage	Report of vaginal bleeding (other than spotting) heavier than a normal period in 72 hours following pregnancy outcome	Report of nearly dying + Profuse bleeding
Sepsis	High fever + foul-smelling vaginal discharge OR high fever + lower abdominal pain in 7 days after pregnancy outcome	Report of nearly dying + High fever

Caption: These definitions are based on WHO’s Integrated Management of Pregnancy and Childbirth Guidelines [51]. The sensitivity and specificity values come from studies conducted in Indonesia, Philippines, and Ghana [55–57].