Background: Reducing the maternal mortality ratio below 70 per 100,000 live births for all countries by the year 2030 is one of the targets of the United Nation's sustainable development goals. Hence, knowing the magnitude of maternal near-miss would tell us the scope of planning to accelerate the achievement of this target as women who survive severe obstetric complications have many characteristics in common with maternal death events. However, studies are limited on the magnitude of maternal near-miss in Ethiopia in general and in the study area in particular.

Objective: To determine the magnitude of maternal near-miss cases at public hospitals in the Hadiya zone, southern Ethiopia using the adapted sub-Saharan Africa maternal near-miss tool.

Methods: Facility-based prospective cohort study was conducted over 6 months from February 17 to August 16, 2019. A total of 2724 live births with 70 maternal near-miss cases were identified. A record review followed by a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire of the cases was used to collect data. A descriptive analysis of the results was carried out.  

Results: This study was based on an adapted sub-Saharan Africa maternal near-miss tool for maternal near-miss cases detection and accordingly the most common maternal near-miss cause was severe pre-eclampsia (41.4%) followed by sepsis (31.4%), severe postpartum hemorrhage (25.7%), eclampsia (8.6%) and uterine rupture (1.4%). The maternal near-miss ratio in the study area was 25.7 per 1,000 live births.

Conclusion: The maternal near-miss ratio at public hospitals in Hadiya Zone was 25.7/1000 live births and severe pre-eclampsia was identified as the most common aetiology.

Keywords: Maternal near-miss, Magnitude, Hadiya zone, Southern Ethiopia