Maternal deaths in Australia 2021–2023

Maternal characteristics, such as a mother’s age and number of previous pregnancies (parity), can be related to her risk of death (see Maternal dharacteristics). The most common causes of death similarly vary by maternal age group and number of previous pregnancies.

Causes of death by parity

In 2021–2023, parity was stated for 52 of the 59 women who died. For women with:

• no previous pregnancies (20 deaths, 38%), the most common causes of death were: non-obstetric haemorrhage, suicide and cardiovascular disease (3 deaths each)
• between 1 and 3 previous pregnancies (25 deaths, 48%), the most common causes of death were sepsis, amniotic fluid embolism and cardiovascular disease (4 deaths each)
• 4 or more previous pregnancies (7 deaths, 13%), the most common cause of death was obstetric haemorrhage (2 deaths) (see Figure 5.2 and supplementary tables 6 and 18 – Data tables: Maternal deaths in Australia, 2021–2023).

Causes of death by maternal age

There are differences between the age profile of all mothers giving birth and the age profile of mothers who died, and variations in the risk of maternal death for different age groups (see Maternal characteristics for further information)./p>

To further explore how maternal age is related to maternal death, the following section looks at cause of death by maternal age over the most recent decade.

In the period 2014–2023, among the 171 maternal deaths where both age and cause of death information was available, there were differences in the leading causes of maternal death across maternal age groups (see Figure 5.3 for more detail). For mothers aged:

• under 20, epilepsy and substance abuse were the most common causes of maternal death (2 deaths each)
• 20-24, suicide was the most common cause of death (3 deaths) 
• 25-29, suicide and cardiovascular were the most common causes of death (5 deaths each), followed by thromboembolism (4 deaths)
• 30-34, amniotic fluid embolism and sepsis were the two most common causes of death (9 deaths each), along with cardiovascular disease and thromboembolism (5 deaths each)
• 35-39, cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death (12 deaths), with obstetric and non-obstetric haemorrhage the second most common (6 deaths each)
• 40 and over, non-obstetric haemorrhage was the most common cause of death (4 deaths), with other common causes including sepsis and thromboembolism (3 each). See Figure 5.3 and supplementary tables 5 and 17 (Data tables: Maternal deaths in Australia, 2021–2023).

Causes of coincidental deaths

Coincidental maternal deaths are those that occur in pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of a pregnancy from causes unrelated to the pregnancy.

Internationally, cases of coincidental (also called incidental) deaths are included in maternal mortality reporting, although only direct, indirect, and unclassified deaths are included in MMR calculations.

It is important to note that ascertainment of coincidental maternal deaths is likely to be an undercount, as reporting of these deaths is not mandated in the same way as direct and indirect deaths are in many jurisdictions.

In addition to the 59 maternal deaths reported in 2021–2023, there were 21 coincidental deaths recorded (see supplementary table 22 – Data tables: Maternal deaths in Australia, 2021–2023). The leading causes of these were:

• motor vehicle trauma (6 deaths)
• cancer (6 deaths)
• non-obstetric haemorrhage (4 deaths).

The leading causes of coincidental maternal deaths in 2021–2023 are consistent with the leading causes over the past decade (2014–2023) – see tables 1 and 2 of Data tables: National Maternal Mortality Data Collection annual update 2023.