Stillbirths And Maternal Deaths Still Higher than Is Reported

Dying In Childbirth 2016: still births and maternal deaths under-reporting giving misleading data 

United Nations Millennium Development Goal is of a 75 percent reduction in maternal deaths by 2015, but  the estimated maternal mortality rate for 48 U.S. states and the District of Columbia actually increased by 26.6 percent from 2000 to 2014, according to a new study co-authored by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers.

Study was published online in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology,
 study found

• estimated maternal mortality rate in the U.S., excluding California and Texas, was 23.8 per 100,000 live births in 2014- up from 18.8 in 2000.

•  earlier estimates significantly underreported maternal deaths, largely because of delays in some states' adoption of a 'pregnancy question' on standard death certificates.

• Those delays and resulting discrepancies, the U.S. has not published an official maternal mortality rate since 2007, the researchers said.

"....... current maternal mortality rate places the United States far behind other industrialized nations," author Eugene Declercq, professor of community health sciences at BUSPH.

The current estimated U.S. rate is comparable to that of Iran and Ukraine, they said. And among 31 industrialized countries, only Mexico has a poorer rate.

 Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant, or within 42 days of termination of a pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management.


The authors said their calculations indicate that the last official U.S. maternal mortality rate -- 12.7 deaths per 100,000 live births, reported in 2007 -- was significantly underestimated. Their study estimates a rate of 21.3 in 2007, 68 percent higher than the reported average.
"It is an international embarrassment that the United States, since 2007, has not been able to provide a national maternal mortality rate to international data repositories," the research team wrote.

The study authors said accurate measures of maternal mortality are key to effective prevention efforts because they can identify at-risk populations and gauge the progress of intervention programs.
extracted from  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160810113704.htmg

Images taken from WHO webpage from

http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/news_events/better-data-stillbirth-maternal-death/maternal-newborn-survival-data.jpg?ua=1

 

True magnitude of stillbirths and maternal and neonatal deaths under-reported

• Counting and reviewing every birth and death is key to preventing future tragedies

 
The day of birth is potentially the most dangerous time for mothers and babies. Every year, worldwide, 303 000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth, 2.7 million babies die during the first 28 days of life and 2.6 million babies are stillborn.
Most stillbirths and neonatal deaths are preventable with quality health care during pregnancy and childbirth. Nearly all babies who are stillborn and half of all newborn deaths are not recorded in a birth or death certificate, and thus have never been registered, reported or investigated by the health system. As a result, countries often do not know the numbers of deaths or the causes of these deaths and thus are unable to take the effective and timely actions to prevent others babies and mothers from dying.
“We need to ensure all births and deaths are counted, and that we can understand what to do to prevent future deaths, no matter where they occur,” says Ian Askew, Director of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO. “By reviewing the causes of maternal and infant deaths countries can improve quality of health care, take corrective actions, and prevent millions of families from enduring the pain of losing their infants or mothers.”

Launch of 3 new publications

•   "WHO Application of the International Classification of Disease-10 to deaths during the perinatal period" (ICD-PM), is a standardized system for classifying stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

• "Making Every Baby Count: Audit and Review of Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths", is a guide to help countries review and investigate individual deaths so they can recommend and implement solutions to prevent similar ones in the future. It also incorporates ICD-PM classification in order to help countries complete at least a basic death review, which is an in-depth investigation into causes and circumstances surrounding the death.

• "Time to respond: a report on the global implementation of maternal death surveillance and response", helps countries strengthen their maternal mortality review process in hospitals and clinics.

Conducting mortality audits and reviews is a key strategy for reducing preventable deaths among mothers and babies. It helps health system managers understand the causes of death, and the contributing factors, so they are able to take corrective actions to improve the quality of care
Extracted from WHO link at
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/stillbirths-neonatal-deaths/en/