Maternal Mortality

Extracted Attributes

• CDC Definition Timeframe

  One year from pregnancy resolution

• WHO Definition Timeframe

  During pregnancy or within six weeks of termination

• Daily Maternal Deaths (2017)

  808 women

• Daily Maternal Deaths (2023)

  Over 700 women

• WHO Categories of Maternal Death

  Direct obstetric deaths, Indirect obstetric deaths

• US Maternal Mortality Rate (2019)

  20.1 per 100,000 live births

• US Maternal Mortality Rate (2020)

  23.8 per 100,000 live births

• US Maternal Mortality Rate (2021)

  32.9 per 100,000 live births

• Examples of Direct Obstetric Deaths

  Severe bleeding, obstructed labor, infection, unsafe abortion, eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage

• Examples of Indirect Obstetric Deaths

  Pregnancy worsening existing conditions (e.g., heart problems, anemia, malaria)

• Global Maternal Mortality Ratio (1990)

  385 per 100,000 live births

• Global Maternal Mortality Ratio (2015)

  216 per 100,000 live births

• Regions with Over 85% of Maternal Deaths

  Low-resource communities in Africa and Asia

• Global Decline in Maternal Mortality (1990-2017)

  44%

• US Maternal Mortality Rate (2021, Women Ages 40+)

  138.5 per 100,000 live births

• US Maternal Mortality Rate (2021, Women Under 25)

  20.4 per 100,000 live births

• Global Maternal Mortality Ratio Decline (2000-2023)

  Approximately 40%

• US Maternal Mortality Rate (2021, Women Ages 25-39)

  31.3 per 100,000 live births

• ACOG Definition Timeframe (Pregnancy-Associated Death)

  All deaths within one year of pregnancy resolution, regardless of cause

• Women Experiencing Severe Injuries/Infections per Maternal Death

  20 to 30 women

• Percentage of Maternal Deaths in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries (2023)

  Approximately 92%

Timeline

• Global maternal mortality ratio was 385 per 100,000 live births. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia, Web Search Results)

  1990

• Global maternal mortality ratio decreased from 385 to 216 per 100,000 live births. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia, Web Search Results)

  1990-2015

• World maternal mortality rate declined by 44%. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia)

  1990-2017

• The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) dropped by about 40% worldwide. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2000-2023

• Approximately 303,000 women died of pregnancy or childbirth related causes globally, according to UNFPA estimates. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2015

• Approximately 808 women died daily from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes globally. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia)

  2017

• The overall maternal mortality rate in the U.S. was 32.9 per 100,000 live births. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2021

• About 260,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth globally, with over 700 women dying daily from preventable causes. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2023

• Zipline's drone delivery system in Rwanda led to a 51% reduction in maternal mortality through the delivery of medical supplies. (Source: Summary, Related Documents)

  N/A

Maternal death

Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pregnancy, underlying conditions worsened by the pregnancy or management of these conditions. This can occur either while she is pregnant or within six weeks of resolution of the pregnancy. The CDC definition of pregnancy-related deaths extends the period of consideration to include one year from the resolution of the pregnancy. Pregnancy associated death, as defined by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), are all deaths occurring within one year of a pregnancy resolution. Identification of pregnancy associated deaths is important for deciding whether or not the pregnancy was a direct or indirect contributing cause of the death. There are two main measures used when talking about the rates of maternal mortality in a community or country. These are the maternal mortality ratio and maternal mortality rate, both abbreviated as "MMR". By 2017, the world maternal mortality rate had declined 44% since 1990; however, every day 808 women die from pregnancy or childbirth related causes. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2017 report, about every 2 minutes a woman dies because of complications due to child birth or pregnancy. For every woman who dies, there are about 20 to 30 women who experience injury, infection, or other birth or pregnancy related complication. UNFPA estimated that 303,000 women died of pregnancy or childbirth related causes in 2015. The WHO divides causes of maternal deaths into two categories: direct obstetric deaths and indirect obstetric deaths. Direct obstetric deaths are causes of death due to complications of pregnancy, birth or termination. For example, these could range from severe bleeding to obstructed labor, for which there are highly effective interventions. Indirect obstetric deaths are caused by pregnancy interfering or worsening an existing condition, like a heart problem. As women have gained access to family planning and skilled birth attendant with backup emergency obstetric care, the global maternal mortality ratio has fallen from 385 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 216 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015. Many countries halved their maternal death rates in the last 10 years. Although attempts have been made to reduce maternal mortality, there is much room for improvement, particularly in low-resource regions. Over 85% of maternal deaths are in low-resource communities in Africa and Asia. In higher resource regions, there are still significant areas with room for growth, particularly as they relate to racial and ethnic disparities and inequities in maternal mortality and morbidity rates. Overall, maternal mortality is an important marker of the health of the country and reflects on its health infrastructure. Lowering the amount of maternal death is an important goal of many health organizations world-wide.

Web Search Results

• Maternal Mortality Is on the Rise: 8 Things To Know - Yale Medicine

  ## 1. What is maternal mortality? Maternal mortality (or death) is the term for when a mother dies from a pregnancy-related health issue or an existing condition exacerbated by pregnancy. It can occur at any time during pregnancy or in the 42 days after giving birth. (The 42-day timeframe is part of the World Health Organization [WHO]’s definition and was used in the CDC’s recent maternal mortality report.) [...] The maternal mortality rate, which is based on the CDC’s numbers (gathered from National Vital Statistics System data), is the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The 1,205 deaths in the U.S. in 2021 translate into an overall maternal mortality rate of 32.9 per 100,000 live births compared with 23.8 in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019. [...] While many women 35 or older have healthy pregnancies, the risk of dying in pregnancy increases with age—the rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. in 2021 for women under 25 was 20.4 per 100,000 live births and 31.3 for women ages 25 to 39. For women ages 40 and older, however, the rate was 138.5 per 100,000 births.

• Maternal death - Wikipedia

  Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the ratio of the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time-period. The MMR is used as a measure of the quality of a health care system. Maternal mortality rate (MMRate) is the number of maternal deaths in a population divided by the number of women of reproductive age, usually expressed per 1,000 women. [...] Lifetime risk of maternal death is a calculated prediction of a woman's risk of death after each consecutive pregnancy. The calculation pertains to women during their reproductive years. The adult lifetime risk of maternal mortality can be derived using either the maternal mortality ratio (MMR), or the maternal mortality rate (MMRate). [...] Between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio has decreased from 385 deaths per 100,000 live births to 216 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Some factors that have been attributed to the decreased maternal deaths seen between this period are in part to the access that women have gained to family planning services and skilled birth attendance, meaning a midwife, doctor, or trained nurse), with back-up obstetric care for emergency situations that may occur during the process of

• Maternal Morbidity and Mortality | NICHD

  Maternal morbidity describes any short- or long-term health problems that result from being pregnant and giving birth. Maternal mortality refers to the death of a woman from complications of pregnancy or childbirth that occur during the pregnancy or within 6 weeks after the pregnancy ends. [...] ### About Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Maternal morbidity and mortality—pregnancy-related short- and long-term health problems and deaths, respectively—are major health concerns in the United States. More >> ### What factors increase the risk of maternal morbidity and mortality? Age, health status, and other factors can increase the risk of maternal morbidity or mortality. Changes can reduce some risk, but not all factors are changeable. More >>

• An Introduction to Maternal Mortality - PMC

  , with a global ratio of 400 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.2 The main causes of death are postpartum hemorrhage (24%); indirect causes such as anemia, malaria, and heart disease (20%); infection (15%); unsafe abortion (13%); eclampsia (12%); obstructed labor (8%); and ectopic pregnancy, embolism, and anesthesia complications (8%) (Figure 1). Forty-five percent of postpartum deaths occur within the first 24 hours and 66% occur during the first week. Of the estimated 211 million [...] of these maternal deaths occur in developing nations. One of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals is to reduce the maternal mortality rate by 75% by 2015. Causes of maternal mortality include postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia, obstructed labor, and sepsis. Many developing nations lack adequate health care and family planning, and pregnant women have minimal access to skilled labor and emergency care. Basic emergency obstetric interventions, such as antibiotics, oxytocics, [...] and deaths related to unsafe abortions. Measuring maternal mortality requires that the mother be pregnant, so prevention of pregnancy makes it difficult to quantify how many deaths have been prevented. Nevertheless, if unwanted pregnancies are prevented, data suggest that between 25% to 40% of maternal deaths could be eliminated.4

• Maternal mortality - World Health Organization (WHO)

  ## Overview Maternal mortality is unacceptably high. About 260 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2023. Approximately 92% of all maternal deathsoccurred in low- and lower-middle-income countries in 2023, and most could have been prevented. [...] Every day in 2023, over 700 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. A maternal death occurred almost every 2 minutes in 2023. Between 2000 and 2023, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR, number of maternal deaths per 100 000 live births) dropped by about 40% worldwide. Just over 90% of all maternal deaths occurred in low- and lower-middle-income countries in 2023.