Maternal mortality is the major indicator used for monitoring maternal health in the US. However, for every maternal death, many women suffer serious life-threatening complications of pregnancy. Historically, maternal mortality and morbidity have been studied in isolation from one another. One way to further decrease maternal mortality rates is to increase our understanding of those factors, both clinical and non-clinical, which may or may not be associated with a fatal outcome.
This presentation will present findings from a larger case-control study of women who delivered within the University of Illinois Perinatal Network from 1992 to 2000 to investigate the relationship of sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical and other service-related factors with maternal mortality and morbidity among a subset of women at elevated risk of death due to severe clinical complications during the perinatal period.
There were 48 maternal deaths identified, 34 (71%) of which were pregnancy related. The leading causes of pregnancy related death mirror those of the nation-- cardiac disease, embolism, cerebrovascular accident, hemorrhage, preeclampsia, and infection. Of all pregnancy related deaths, 1/3 were deemed preventable, primarily due to provider, patient, or system factors.
Of the maternal morbidities identified, 19% were classified as “near miss,” 65% as severe morbidities, and 16% as morbidities. The morbidities fell into the 5 clinical categories of preeclampsia, hemorrhage, infection, cardiac disease, and embolism. The unadjusted relationship between the severity of morbidity and the outcome being classified as preventable was significant (p <.02). A similar relationship was seen when comparing mortalities to morbidites (p < .03).
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Maternal Morbidity, Mortality
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: N/A
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.