Maternal Mortality - Reports Resources

PURPOSE: African-American women have a 2- to 4-fold increased risk of pregnancy-related death compared with Caucasian women. We conducted this study to determine if differences in a combination of socioeconomic and medical risk factors may explain this racial disparity in pregnancy-related death.
METHODS: Pregnancy-related deaths of African-American (N=60) and Caucasian (N=47) women were identified from review of pregnancy-associated deaths (N=400) ascertained through cause of death on death certificates, electronic linkage of birth and death files, and review of the hospital discharge database for the State of North Carolina, during the period between 1992 and 1998. Controls (N=3404) were randomly selected from all live births for the same 7-year period. Logistic regression was used to model the association between race and pregnancy-related death.
RESULTS: The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for pregnancy-related death for African-Americans compared with Caucasians was 3.07 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.08, 4.54). After controlling for gestational age at delivery, maternal age, income, hypertension, and receipt of prenatal care, African-American race remained a significant predictor variable (OR 2.65 [95% CI 1.73, 4.07]).
CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis confirms that there is a strong association between race and pregnancy-related death, even after adjusting for potential predictors and confounders.

PURPOSE: Our study aim was to identify factors that may contribute to the racial disparity in pregnancy-related mortality.
METHODS: We examined differences in severity of disease, comorbidities, and receipt of care among 608 (304 African-American and 304 white) consecutive patients of non-Hispanic ethnicity with one of three pregnancy-related morbidities (pregnancy-related hypertension, puerperal infection, and hemorrhage) from hospitals selected at random from a statewide region.
RESULTS: African-American women had more severe hypertension, lower hemoglobin concentrations preceding hemorrhage, more antepartum hospital admissions, and a higher rate of obesity. The rate of surgical intervention for hemorrhage was lower among African-Americans, although the severity of hemorrhage did not differ between the two racial groups. More African-American women received eclampsia prophylaxis. After stratifying by severity of hypertension, we found that more African-Americans received antihypertensive therapy. The rate of enrollment for prenatal care was lower in the African-American group. Among women receiving prenatal care, African-American women enrolled significantly later in their pregnancies.
CONCLUSIONS: We have identified racial differences in severity of disease, comorbidities, and care status among women with pregnancy-related complications that would place African-Americans at disadvantage to survive pregnancy. These differences are potentially modifiable.

The Seventh Report of the United Kingdom Confidential Enquires into Maternal Deaths (2003-2005). Slide set provided by Dr Gwyneth Lewis, CEMACH Clinical Director, Maternal Death Enquiry.

The Safe Motherhood Initiative is a joint project of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District II/New York in collaboration with the Bureau of Women’s Health of the New York State Department of Health. Established in 2001, the mission of the Initiative is to help prevent pregnancy-related deaths through improved understanding of the causes and risk factors for maternal mortality. Utilizing the maternal death protocol and accompanying abstraction form developed in year one, the Safe Motherhood Initiative and the state’s Regional Perinatal Centers conduct quality assurance and quality improvement activities related to maternal mortality. The Initiative was inspired by the signifi cant racial disparities associated with maternal mortality. The key strategies for prevention of maternal deaths in New York State include the development of a standardized system to report and review pregnancy-related deaths along with the provision of recommendations and training that have the direct goal of improving maternity care.