Pregnancy-related and maternal deaths in Hamburg, Germany: an autopsy study from 1984 - 2018

Maternal deaths are rare events in industrial nations due to high quality medical services. These are often unexpected deaths occurring during pregnancy and labor, thus often requiring forensic autopsies. Our analysis will provide an overview of the expected range of causes of death. A retrospective analysis was carried out on all autopsies performed at the Department of Legal Medicine in Hamburg, Germany, over the last 34 years. Autopsies were carried out on 57 cases of maternal death over the 34- year period, i.e. 1 or 2 cases per year. The average age of women was 30 years. Approximately two thirds of deaths occurred during pregnancy. Cardiovascular events accounted for the leading causes of death from natural causes, suicides were the leading causes of non-natural death. Maternal deaths remained consistently rare over the examination period. There was a wide range of causes of death involving natural and non-natural causes.