Maternal morbidity includes a range of different health conditions. Some of them start during pregnancy and last only a short time, while others do not develop until years after a pregnancy and continue throughout the woman’s life.
Maternal mortality usually results from a pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum complication; a chain of medical events started by the pregnancy or delivery; the worsening of an unrelated condition because of the pregnancy or delivery; or other factors.1
Maternal Morbidity
Maternal health problems related to pregnancy and giving birth can occur during pregnancy, during delivery, and after a pregnancy ends. Some common examples of maternal morbidity include the following2:
- Cardiovascular problems, such as heart disease and blood vessel problems
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Infections, especially from cesarean section
- Blood clots
- Bleeding (sometimes called hemorrhage)
- Anemia (low iron in the blood)
- Nausea and vomiting (sometimes called morning sickness) and hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness)
- Depression and anxiety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses International Classification of Disease codes and whether a woman is hospitalized to group examples of severe maternal morbidity (SMM). Some SMM examples include heart attack, heart failure, eclampsia, sepsis/blood infection, and hysterectomy.3 If a woman needs breathing assistance, such as a ventilator, or needs a blood transfusion, it is also considered SMM.
Maternal Mortality
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the following cause the majority of maternal deaths around the world4:
- Severe bleeding (sometimes called hemorrhage)
- Infections
- Blood pressure disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia and eclampsia
- Complications of labor and delivery
- Unsafe abortion
Infections and chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, are also causes of or associated with maternal deaths worldwide.
In the United States, CDC tracks pregnancy-related deaths, including deaths that WHO calls “maternal mortality.” The leading causes of pregnancy-related death in the United States, according to CDC, are slightly different than maternal mortality causes around the world.
In the United States, the main causes of pregnancy-related deaths include the following5:
- Severe bleeding (sometimes called hemorrhage)
- Infections and sepsis
- Cardiovascular conditions, such as:
- Blockages (sometimes called embolisms) in arteries and veins
- Stroke (also called cerebrovascular accidents)
- Blood pressure disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia and eclampsia
- Heart muscle problems (called cardiomyopathy)
- Heart disease
- Problems with anesthesia
- Amniotic fluid embolism
- Non-cardiovascular conditions, such as diabetes and breathing problems
For more information on national trends and causes of pregnancy-related death, visit CDC: Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System.
CDC also reports on pregnancy-associated deaths, from causes unrelated to pregnancy. Common causes of pregnancy-associated deaths include trauma (including motor vehicle accidents), homicide, suicide, and drug overdoses.6,7,8
NICHD provides information on many topics relevant to maternal morbidity and mortality, including the following:
- Breastfeeding and breast milk
- Diabetes (including gestational diabetes)
- High-risk pregnancy
- HIV/AIDS
- Labor and delivery
- Obesity and overweight
- Pelvic floor disorders
- Pelvic pain
- Preeclampsia and eclampsia
- Pre-pregnancy care and prenatal care
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy loss
- Preterm labor and birth
- Stillbirth
- Stroke
- Women’s health
- Zika
Find more resources about maternal morbidity and mortality.
Citations
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019). Pregnancy-related deaths. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternal-mortality/index.html.
- CDC. (2018). Pregnancy complications. Retrieved March 3, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-complications.html.
- CDC. (2019). How does CDC identify severe maternal morbidity? Retrieved March 3, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/smm/severe-morbidity-ICD.htm.
- World Health Organization. (2019). Maternal mortality. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
. - CDC. (2019). Pregnancy mortality surveillance system. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternal-mortality/pregnancy-mortality-surveillance-system.htm.
- Mangla, K., Hoffman, M. C., Trumpff, C., O’Grady, S., & Monk, C. (2019). Maternal self-harm deaths: An unrecognized and preventable outcome. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 221(4), 295–303. Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2019.02.056 .
- Sakamoto, J., Michels, C., Eisfelder, B., & Joshi, N. (2019). Trauma in pregnancy. Emergency Medical Clinics of North America, 37(2), 317–338. Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emc.2019.01.009 .
- Metz, T. D., Rovner, P., Hoffman, M. C., Allshouse, A. A., Beckwith, K. M., & Binswanger, I. A. (2016). Maternal deaths from suicide and overdose in Colorado, 2004–2012. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 128(6), 1233–1240. Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000001695 .
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