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Maternal death, or maternal mortality, also "obstetrical death" is the death of a woman during or shortly after a pregnancy. In 2000, the United Nations estimated global maternal mortality at 529,000, of which less than 1% occurred in the developed world. However, most of these deaths have been medically preventable for decades, because treatments to avoid such deaths have been well known since the 1950s. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Maternal health care is a concept that encompasses preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is a coding of diseases and signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... World map indicating Human Development Index (as of 2004). ... In medicine, prevention is any activity which reduces the burden of mortality or morbidity from disease. ...

Maternal Mortality definition

According to the WHO, "A maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes." (1) Look up who in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Generally there is a distinction between a direct maternal death that is the result of a complication of the pregnancy, delivery, or their management, and an indirect maternal death that is a pregnancy-related death in a patient with a preexisting or newly developed health problem. Other fatalities during but unrelated to a pregnancy are termed accidental, incidental, or nonobstetrical maternal deaths.

Maternal mortality is a sentinel event to assess the quality of a health care system. However, a number of issues need to be recognized. First of all, the WHO definition is one of many; other definitions may also include accidental and incidental causes. Cases with "incidental causes" include deaths secondary to violence against women that may be related to the pregnancy and be affected by the socioeconomic and cultural environment. Also, it has been reported that about 10% of maternal deaths may occur late, that is after 42 days after a termination or delivery (1), thus, some definitions extend the time period of observation to one year after the end of the gestation. Further, it is well recognized that maternal mortality numbers are often significantly underreported (2). A Sentinel event, as defined by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is any unanticipated or unusual event in a healthcare setting which results in death or serious physical injury to a person or persons, specifically including loss of a limb or gross motor function. ... Violence against women (VAW) is a term of art used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women. ...

Major causes

The major causes of maternal death are bacterial infection, toxemia, obstetrical hemorrhage, ectopic pregnancy, puerperal sepsis, amniotic fluid embolus, and complications of abortions. An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ... Toxemia is another term for blood poisoning, or the presence in the bloodstream of quantities of bacteria or bacterial toxins sufficient to cause serious illness. ... Obstetrical hemorrhage refers to heavy bleeding during pregnancy,labor, or the puerperium. ... The amniotic sac is a tough but thin transparent pair of membranes which holds a developing embryo (and later fetus) until shortly before birth. ... In medicine, an embolism occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli) migrates from one part of the body (through the circulation) and cause(s) a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body. ...

As stated by the 2005 WHO report "Make Every mother and Child Count" they are: severe bleeding/hemorrhage (25%), infections (13%), eclampsia (12%), obstructed labour (8%), complications of abortion (13%), other direct causes (8%), and indirect causes (20%). Indirect causes such as malaria, anaemia, HIV/AIDS and cardiovascular disease, complicate pregnancy or are aggravated by it. Look up who in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)

Maternal Mortality Ratio is the ratio of the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The MMR is used as a measure of the quality of a health care system. Sierra Leone has the highest maternal death rate at 2,000, and Afghanistan has the second highest maternal death rate at 1900 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, reported by the UN based on 2000 figures. Lowest rates included Iceland at 10 per 100,000 and Austria at 4 per 100,000. In the United States, the maternal death rate was 17 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000. "Lifetime risk of maternal death" accounts for number of pregnancies and risk. In sub-Saharan Africa the lifetime risk of maternal death is 1 in 16, for developed nations only 1 in 2,800. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is a measure of the risk of death once a woman has become pregnant. ...

The MMR for each country is listed here: World Health Organisation Reproductive Indicators

The maternal mortality ratio is often referred to as the maternal mortality rate. This is actually a misnomer as it is in fact a ratio, and not a rate at all. An editor has expressed a concern that the topic of this article may be unencyclopedic. ... A ratio is a quantity that denotes the proportional amount or magnitude of one quantity relative to another. ... Look up Rate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Associated risk factors

High rates of maternal deaths occur in the same countries that have high rates of infant mortality reflecting generally poor nutrition and medical care. is the death of infants in the first year of life. ...

Low birth weight of the child increases the risk of maternal death from cardiovascular disease. Subtracting one pound of infant birth weight doubles the risk of maternal death. Therefore, the heavier the birth weight of child, the lower the risk of maternal death. Cardiovascular disease refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart and/or blood vessels (arteries and veins). ...

Maternal death rates in the 20th century

The death rate for women giving birth plummeted in the 20th century.

At the beginning of the century, maternal death rates were around their historical level of nearly 1 in 100 for live births. The number today in the United States is 1 in 10,000, a decline by a factor of 100.

The decline in maternal deaths has been due largely to improved asepsis, use of caesarean section, fluid management and blood transfusion, and better prenatal care. Asepsis is the practice to reduce or eliminate contaminants (such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites) from entering the operative field in surgery or medicine to prevent infection. ... A caesarean section (AE cesarean section), or c-section, is a form of childbirth in which a surgical incision is made through a mothers abdomen (laparotomy) and uterus (hysterotomy) to deliver one or more babies. ... Donating blood Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. ... A doctor performs a prenatal exam. ...

See also

• List of women who died in childbirth
• Maternal Mortality Ratio, or MMR
• Perinatal mortality
• Reproduction
• Reproductive health
• Stillbirth

List of famous women who died during childbirth or of pregnancy complications: // [edit] Famous women [edit] Austria Maria Leopoldina, Archduchess of Austria (1826), mother of Maria II of Portugal and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil [edit] France Alix of Thouars (1221), Duchess of Brittany [edit] Germany Anna von Schweidnitz (1362... The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is a measure of the risk of death once a woman has become pregnant. ... Perinatal mortality (PNM), also perinatal death, refers to the death of a fetus or neonate and is the basis to calculate the perinatal mortality rate. ... For other uses, see Reproduction (disambiguation) Reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced. ... Within the framework of WHOs definition of health[1] as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system at all stages of life. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

References

1. Lisa M. Koonin, M.N., M.P.H. Hani K. Atrash, M.D., M.P.H. Roger W. Rochat, M.D. Jack C. Smith, M.S. Maternal Mortality Surveillance, United States, 1980-1985 MMWR 12/1/1988; 37(SS-5):19-29. [1]
2. Deneux-Tharaux D, Berg C, Bouvier-Colle MH, Gissler M, Harper M, Nannini A, Alexander S, Wildman K, Breart G, Buekens P. Underreporting of Pregnancy-Related Mortality in the United States and Europe. Obstet Gynecol 2005;106:684-92.

External links

• Maternal Mortality Estimates 2000 by the WHO & UNICEF

• The World Health Report 2005 – Make Every Mother and Child Count