What is this report?

A preliminary report of data from four states using an innovative data-collection system provides the first in-depth look at key factors contributing to maternal death and showcases opportunities for prevention.

For example:

• It offers concrete evidence that a maternal death is the tragic result of an intersection of a number of factors. It is the sum of a range of circumstances related to communities, healthcare facilities, providers, and patients. On average, three to four critical factors were identified for each pregnancy-related death.
• This report highlights that causes of pregnancy-related death differ by age and depending on whether a woman was pregnant, was in delivery or had recently delivered.
• These data also show that mental health conditions were a leading cause of pregnancy-related death in these four states. More specifically, among postpartum women, suicide most commonly occurs in the late-postpartum period.
• As more states participate, we can use these data to identify causes and contributing factors to pregnancy-related death and the prevention opportunities with the greatest potential impacts.