Maternal deaths in Australia 2021–2023

In Australia, where childbirth is safe for most women, maternal death is rare but does still occur. Due to the small number of maternal deaths in a year, it can be difficult to interpret the trend in maternal mortality over time using single year rates. Using a ‘triennia’ approach (aggregating three years of data) can provide more robust and meaningful insights. This triennial report provides in-depth data on maternal deaths in Australia for the most recent triennia, 2021–2023, as well as data for longer periods where possible. Data is presented by causes of death, timing of death and selected characteristics of the women who died. The maternal mortality ratio in Australia in 2021–2023 was 6.7 deaths per 100,000 women giving birth, which is among the lowest ratios in the world. The most common causes of maternal death in 2021–2023 were non-obstetric haemorrhage, cardiovascular disease and sepsis.