Major Causes of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity

Maternal Mortality and Morbidity:

Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. While motherhood is often positive and fulfilling, for too many women it is associated with suffering, ill-health, and death. The top leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity include hemorrhage, infection, high blood pressure, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labor.

The pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity ratio is an estimate of the number of pregnancy-related deaths and complications for every 100,000 live births. This ratio is often used as an indicator to measure the nation’s health.

Maternal Mortality Definition:

The death of women while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management.

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR):

The number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, a measure of the risk of death once a woman has become pregnant.

Maternal Morbidity Definition:

Morbidity refers to an unhealthy state or medical complications in women caused by pregnancy, labor, or delivery.

Maternal Morbidity Rate (MMR):

A morbidity rate looks at the number of cases of a disease occurring in a given number (usually 100,000) of the pregnant population

Leading Causes of Maternity Mortalities:

There are mainly two types of causes for maternity mortalities. One is pregnancy-related causes and another one is medical causes. Both of those have been pointed in the following step by step.

Pregnancy-Related Causes of Maternity Mortalities:

Various pregnancy-related causes for maternity mortalities are-

1. Unsafe Abortion( Septic Abortion),
2. Severe Antepartum and Postpartum Haemorrhage( APH, PPH),
3. Puerperal Sepsis,
4. Early pregnancy /Ectopic pregnancy,
5. Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (Eclampsia/ Pre-eclampsia),
6. Delayed and Obstructed labor,
7. Placenta Previa,
8. Uterine Rupture.

Medical Causes of Maternity Mortalities:

Different medical causes for maternity mortalities are-

1. Anemia,
2. Thrombosis and Thromboembolism,
3. Jaundice,
4. Diabetes,
5. Hepatic failure,
6. Renal failure,
7. Cardiovascular disease,
8. Severe anesthesia Complications.

Cause of Maternal Morbidity:

Various causes of maternal morbidity have presented out in the following:

1. VVF( Vesico Vaginal fistula),
2. RVF ( Rectro Vaginal Fistula),
3. Perineal tear,
4. Uterine prolapsed,
5. Vaginal stenosis,
6. PID ( Pelvic inflammatory disease),
7. Infertility,
8. DIC( disseminated intravascular coagulation),
9. Amniotic fluid embolism,
10. Blood transfusion reaction,
11. Hysterectomy.

More questions related to this topic:

1. What is the most common cause of maternal mortality?
2. What does it mean to die from maternal conditions?
3. What is maternal health care?
4. Point out the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality.
5. Global causes of maternal death: a WHO systematic analysis.
6. Mention the causes of maternal mortality during childbirth.
7. Mention the causes of maternal mortality in developing countries.

Maria Mona

Maria Khatun Mona is a Founder and Editor of Nursing Exercise Blog. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Expert. Currently she is working as a Registered Nurse at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has great passion in writing different articles on Nursing and Midwifery. Mail her at “maria.mona023@gmail.com”