The death of a women from direct or indirect obstetric causes more than 42 days and up to a year after pregnancy ends
Deeper dive
The official maternal mortality rate measures deaths up to 42 days postpartum. However, complications of pregnancy or childbirth can lead to death well beyond that first six weeks. Such late-pregnancy deaths are excluded from global surveillance. Emphasis on tracking late maternal deaths has increased as improvements in care have enabled more women to survive adverse outcomes of pregnancy and delivery. In addition, there’s growing recognition that deaths due to social circumstances, such as suicide, homicide and overdose, may be related to pregnancy and birth.