Pathology of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium Codexery

Maternal death

Maternal death is the death of a woman from pregnancy-related causes.

Maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization as the death of a pregnant mother due to pregnancy complications, underlying conditions worsened by pregnancy, or their management.[1] According to the WHO, a maternal death is defined as a fatality occurring while a woman is pregnant or within 42 days after the pregnancy ends.[1][2]

Key facts and history

Between 2000 and 2023, the global maternal mortality ratio dropped by about 40%.[3][4] Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia accounted for around 87% of estimated global maternal deaths in 2023.[3][4] The major complications causing about 75% of maternal deaths are severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure, delivery complications, and unsafe abortion.[3][4] Most maternal deaths are preventable, as health-care solutions for complications are well known.[3][4]

Direct obstetric deaths are fatalities from pregnancy, childbirth, or termination complications, including examples like heavy bleeding or a blocked birth canal.[5][2] Indirect obstetric deaths are fatalities where a pre-existing health issue, such as a cardiac condition, is made worse by the pregnancy.[5][6][2]

What the research sources say

The United Nations Population Fund reports that for every woman who dies, 20 to 30 experience childbirth injuries, infections, or disabilities.[7] According to the WHO, 37 countries classified as conflict-affected or fragile accounted for 61% of global maternal deaths in 2023 despite representing only 25% of global live births.[3][4] The Maternal Health Task Force states that the risk of dying from pregnancy complications is three to four times higher for women who do not get prenatal care compared to those who do.[8][9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Maternal death" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Indicator Metadata Registry Details", www.who.int; "Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System - Pregnancy - Reproductive Health", CDC, 25 November 2020; "Pregnancy-Related Deaths CDC", www.cdc.gov, 2019-02-26; "Maternal and perinatal mortality", Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, February 1992, p. 61–71 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Indicator Metadata Registry Details", www.who.int. facts only, no text reused. who.int
  3. "Maternal mortality", World Health Organisation. facts only, no text reused. who.int
  4. "Maternal mortality", www.who.int. facts only, no text reused. who.int
  5. Wikipedia, "Maternal death" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013", Lancet, January 2015, p. 117; "Indicator Metadata Registry Details", www.who.int; "Indicator Metadata Registry Details", www.who.int (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Maternal death" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Deaths attributable to childbearing in Matlab, Bangladesh: indirect causes of maternal mortality questioned", American Journal of Epidemiology, February 2000, p. 300–6; "Indicator Metadata Registry Details", www.who.int (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Maternal health", United Nations Population Fund. facts only, no text reused. unfpa.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Maternal death" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Maternal Health in the United States", Maternal Health Task Force, 2015-08-14 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Maternal Health in the United States", Maternal Health Task Force, 2015-08-14. facts only, no text reused. mhtf.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Maternal death (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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