How other countries can improve Canada's maternal mortality statistics

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Public Health Surveillance
• Perinatal Medicine

Background:

• Maternal mortality, encompassing deaths during pregnancy or within 42 days postpartum (with late maternal deaths up to 365 days), is a key indicator of women's health and healthcare system performance.
• Existing Canadian systems for reporting maternal mortality are fragmented, with investigations handled provincially/territorially, and national surveillance limited by data access.
• This fragmentation prevents a comprehensive national understanding of maternal mortality prevalence and trends in Canada.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the critical need for a unified national system to accurately report maternal mortality in Canada.
• To emphasize the limitations of current Canadian data collection methods for maternal deaths.
• To advocate for the establishment of a national confidential enquiry system for maternal mortality.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the current Canadian framework for maternal death investigation and surveillance.
• Identification of data gaps and limitations within existing national systems like the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System.
• Review of international models for successful national confidential enquiry systems for maternal mortality.

Main Results:

• Canada currently lacks a centralized national system for reporting maternal mortality.
• Maternal death investigations are decentralized, falling under provincial/territorial coroner and medical examiner jurisdictions.
• The Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System has restricted access to comprehensive datasets, impeding accurate national reporting.

Conclusions:

• Accurate national data on maternal mortality prevalence and trends in Canada is currently unavailable.
• Establishing a national confidential enquiry system is essential for a complete picture of maternal mortality.
• Such a system should be modeled after successful international frameworks to ensure effectiveness and comprehensive data capture.