Maternal death is the death of a woman in childbirth. It usually occurs during or after a live birth. The UN estimated a world-wide total of 529,000 maternal deaths in the year 2000 with less than one percent of deaths occurring in developed nations.

Maternal Mortality Ratio is the ratio of the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. In the United States, the maternal death rate is 17 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the year 2000. Sierra Leone has the highest maternal death rate at 2,000, and Afghanistan has the second highest maternal death rate at 1900 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, reported by the UN based on 2000 figures. Lowest rates included Iceland at 0 per 100,000 and Austria at 4 per 100,000. Of course, annual rates of deaths per 100,000 births are going to be uselessly noisy for a country like Iceland with only 300,000 people and about 4000 births per year. "Lifetime risk of maternal death" accounts for number of pregnancies and risk. In sub-Saharan Africa the lifetime risk of maternal death is 1 in 16, for developed nations only 1 in 2,800.

High rates of maternal deaths occur in the same countries that have high rates of infant mortality reflecting generally poor nutrition and medical care.

Low birth weight of the child increases the risk of maternal death from cardiovascular disease. Subtracting one kilogram of infant birth weight doubles the risk of maternal death. Therefore, the heavier the birth weight of child, the lower the risk of maternal death.

Known maternal death victims

• Julia Caesaris, daughter of Julius Caesar
• The mother of Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of U.S. President William McKinley (She died giving birth to her last child when her son Leon Czolgosz was twelve years old.)
• The Biblical Rachel, died giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-20)

Known people whose mothers died giving birth to them

• Roy Harper, musician
• Mary Shelley, writer

Maternal death in fiction

In Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist the title character's mother Agnes, dies giving birth to him. Square Enix's Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest video game series also mentioned maternal death. Raine of Final Fantasy VIII died giving birth to the game's protagonist Squall Leonhart. The mother of the Dragon Quest V hero was rumored to have died in childbirth. In the motion picture, The Mask of Zorro, the antagonist Don Rafael Montero, enemy of Don Diego de la Vega, lied that Esperanza de la Vega dying in childbirth, but Esperanza de la Vega was actually gunned down instead. Then Montero raised her daughter Elena. In the motion picture Contact, a woman died giving birth to the film's protagonist Eleanor Ann "Ellie" Arroway, portrayed by actress Jodie Foster. In SNK's King of Fighters series, the Yagami bloodline is cursed with maternal death. The mothers of the Yagami clan heirs are cursed to die giving birth to the clan heirs.

Maternal death rates in the 20th century

The death rate for women giving birth plummeted in the 20th century.

At the beginning of the century, maternal death rates were around their historical level of nearly 1 in 100 for live births. The number today in the United States is 1 in 10,000, a 99% decline.

The decline in maternal deaths has been due largely to better drugs and medical procedures such as increased prenatal care, better education, and the increase in expendable incomes to pay for all this.

See also

• Reproduction
• Stillbirth
• Maternal Mortality Ratio, or MMR