The Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital recorded 20 deaths in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department in 2013.

A statement signed by Dr Paul Kwaw Ntodi, Medical Director, said 15 of these deaths were directly related to pregnancy while the other five were indirect maternal deaths.

It said maternal health issues were dear to every health worker and all those concerned with the Millennium Development Goals particularly Goal 5.

It said management of the hospital had proactively strategized to keep maternal deaths under control despite numerous challenges and complexity of the matter.

“One of the things we have done is to improve emergency response time for pregnant women requiring emergency interventions”, it said.