Assessing preventability of maternal mortality in Illinois: 2002-2012

Area of Science:

• Maternal Health
• Public Health Surveillance
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Pregnancy-related mortality remains a critical public health concern in the United States.
• Understanding the preventability of these deaths is essential for developing targeted interventions.
• Illinois's maternal death review process provides a framework for analyzing these outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the potential preventability of pregnancy-related deaths in Illinois from 2002 to 2012.
• To identify the leading causes of pregnancy-related mortality within the study period.
• To compare findings with national trends in maternal death reviews.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of maternal deaths in Illinois (2002-2012) was conducted.
• Data were sourced from the Illinois Department of Public Health's Maternal Mortality Review Form database.
• Pregnancy-related deaths were analyzed for causes and potential preventability.

Main Results:

• 610 maternal deaths occurred, with a rate of 31.8 per 100,000 live births.
• Approximately one-third of pregnancy-related deaths were deemed potentially preventable.
• Vascular causes, cardiac issues, and hemorrhage were leading causes; hemorrhage and psychiatric causes were most preventable.

Conclusions:

• Pregnancy-related death causes and preventability in Illinois align with national data.
• Analyzing causes of death is crucial for improving maternal health outcomes.
• Interventions targeting provider, system, and patient factors are needed to reduce preventable deaths.