Maternal conditions

Maternal deaths comprise deaths of women who are pregnant or within 42 days of the termination of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management (other than unintentional injuries or incidental causes). Thus, under ICD rules, a death caused by an existing cardiac disease that was aggravated by a pregnancy is be included here. In practice, maternal deaths are often undercounted in death certificate data. Late maternal deaths, which occur between 42 days and 1 year after the termination of the pregnancy, are included here as well.