Lay summary: Maternal Mortality Surveillance 2016
Pregnant women and those who have recently given birth need to be aware of the symptoms of heart disease, says a major new report from researchers at the University of Oxford.
The latest Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths from the national collaborative programme studying maternal and infant deaths, MBRRACE-UK, commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership shows that in 2012-14, 8.5 women per 100,000 died during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth. The report, ‘Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care’, highlights that two in every 100,000 died from heart disease, which is the leading cause of women dying in pregnancy or the early weeks after childbirth. There has been no significant change in the overall national maternal death rate since the last report.
The study focused on reviewing in detail the care of 153 women who died from heart disease during or after pregnancy in the UK and Ireland between 2009 and 2014.
The lay summary is available to download from this page
