Maternal deaths in Australia

Web report

Last updated: 14 Dec 2020

Topic: Mothers & babies

AIHW

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2020) Maternal deaths in Australia, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 28 April 2024.

APA

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Maternal deaths in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/maternal-deaths-in-australia

MLA

Maternal deaths in Australia. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 14 December 2020, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/maternal-deaths-in-australia

Vancouver

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Maternal deaths in Australia [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2020 [cited 2024 Apr. 28]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/maternal-deaths-in-australia

Harvard

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2020, Maternal deaths in Australia, viewed 28 April 2024, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/maternal-deaths-in-australia

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Definitions of maternal deaths

Type of death	Definition
Direct maternal deaths^(a)	Those resulting from obstetric complications of the pregnant state (pregnancy, labour and puerperium) from interventions, omissions, incorrect treatment or from a chain of events resulting from any of the above
Indirect maternal deaths^(a)	Those resulting from previous existing diseases or diseases that developed during pregnancy, and which were not due to a direct obstetric cause, but were aggravated by the physiologic effects of pregnancy
Maternal death, not further classified	Deaths considered to be related to the pregnancy or its management, but could not be further classified as either ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’. These deaths are included in the maternal deaths total
Coincidental maternal deaths	Deaths from unrelated causes that happen to occur in pregnancy or the puerperium
Unclassified death	Maternal death from unspecified or undetermined cause occurring during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or the puerperium

(a) Definitions are from the International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision, volume 2, section 5.8.1.

For more definitions of terms used in this report, see the glossary.

Calculation of the maternal mortality ratio

The incidence of maternal death is expressed as the maternal mortality ratio (MMR), which is calculated using direct and indirect deaths combined, and excludes coincidental deaths.

Although the most appropriate denominator for estimating maternal mortality would be the number of women at risk (the number of pregnant or recently pregnant women), this number is not available in Australia because the number of pregnancies ending before 20 weeks’ gestation is unknown. In Australia, accurate population data are available for the number of women who gave birth to at least 1 baby (either a live birth or a stillbirth) of 20 weeks’ completed gestation or more or birthweight of 400 grams or more and are held in the AIHW’s National Perinatal Data Collection; this is the denominator number used when calculating the MMR in this report.

Calculation of the MMR

MMR = (Number of direct and indirect maternal deaths^(a)) / (Number of women who gave birth^(a)) x 100,000

(a) For a defined place and time.

Data tables

Data tables for this report.

Data quality statement

National Maternal Mortality Data Collection, 2018; Quality Statement