Why Mothers Die 2000–2002
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P1: FCG/FFX P2: FCG/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: FCG RGBK001-FM RCOG Press RGBK001-Clutton.cls October 25, 2004 22:19 Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health Improving care for mothers, babies and children Why Mothers Die 2000–2002 The Sixth Report of the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in the United Kingdom i P1: FCG/FFX P2: FCG/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: FCG RGBK001-FM RCOG Press RGBK001-Clutton.cls October 25, 2004 22:19 CEMACH Mission Statement Our aim is to improve the health of mothers, babies and children by carrying out confidential enquiries on a nationwide basis and by widely disseminating our findings and recommendations ii P1: FCG/FFX P2: FCG/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: FCG RGBK001-FM RCOG Press RGBK001-Clutton.cls October 25, 2004 22:19 Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health Improving care for mothers, babies and children Why Mothers Die 2000–2002 The Sixth Report of the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in the United Kingdom Director and Editor Gwyneth Lewis MSc MRCGP FFPH FRCOG Clinical Director James Drife MD FRCOG FRCPEd FRCSEd Central Assessors and Authors Thomas Clutton-Brock MRCP FRCA Griselda Cooper FRCA FRCOG Marion Hall MD FRCOG Ann Harper MD FRCPI FRCOG Mary Hepburn MRCGP FRCOG James Neilson MD FRCOG Catherine Nelson-Piercy FRCP John McClure FRCA Margaret Oates DPM FRCPsych Gillian Penney MD FRCOG MFFP Kate Sallah RN RM ADM MPH Michael de Swiet MD FRCP Harry Millward-Sadler FRCPath MHSH Robin Vlies FRCSEd FRCOG Other authors and contributors Victoria Brace MRCOG Nirupa Dattani BSc MPhil Alison Macfarlane BA Dip Stat Cstat FFPH Nigel Physick Carine Ronsmans MD DrPH Lisa Hunt MD PhD Jessica Chamberlain BA (Hons) MSc Tania Corbin BSc (Hons) MSc iii P1: FCG/FFX P2: FCG/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: FCG RGBK001-FM RCOG Press RGBK001-Clutton.cls October 25, 2004 22:19 Published by the RCOG Press at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 27 Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RG, UK www.rcog.org.uk Registered Charity No. 213280 First published November 2004 C CEMACH 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of CEMACH and the Publisher (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) or, in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK [www.cla.co.uk]. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to the publisher at the UK address printed on this page. Making duplicate copies of this report for legitimate clinical or other non-commercial purposes within the UK National Health Service is permitted, provided that CEMACH is identified as the originator of the information. Making alterations to any of the information contained within, or using the information in any other work or publication without prior permission, will be a direct breach of copyright and may result in civil action. The use of registered names, trademarks etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant laws and regulation and therefore free for general use. Product liability: neither CEMACH nor the RCOG can give any guarantee for information about drug dosage and application thereof contained in this guideline. In every individual case the respective user must check its accuracy by consulting other pharmaceutical literature. ISBN 1-904752-08-X All correspondence with regard to this Report should be addressed to: CEMACH, Chiltern Court, 188 Baker Street, London NW1 5SD; email: [email protected]; website: www.cemach.org.uk Cover image: Acestock.com RCOG Press Editor: Jane Moody Design: Tony Crowley Production by TechBooks, New Delhi Printed by Latimer Trend & Co. Ltd, Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PL, UK This work was undertaken by CEMACH and by its predecessor organisation, the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths (CEMD). The work was funded by the National Centre for Clinical Excellence, the Scottish Programme for Clinical Effectiveness in Reproductive Heath and by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety of Northern Ireland. The views expressed in this publication are those of the Enquiry and not necessarily those of its funding bodies. iv P1: FCG/FFX P2: FCG/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: FCG RGBK001-FM RCOG Press RGBK001-Clutton.cls October 25, 2004 22:19 v CONTENTS Preface vii Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations x Section One: Introduction 1 Background, aims and objectives of the Enquiry 3 Definitions of maternal mortality 9 The international context 14 Summary of overarching recommendations 18 1. Introduction and key findings 2000–2002 25 Section Two: Direct deaths 59 2. Thrombosis and thromboembolism 61 Annex 2A Summary of the key recommendations of the 2004 RCOG Guideline: Thromboprophylaxis during pregnancy, labour and after normal vaginal delivery 74 Annex 2B Prophylaxis against thromboembolism in caesarean section 77 3. Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia 79 4. Haemorrhage 86 Annex 4A Guidelines for the management and treatment of obstetric haemorrhage in women who decline blood transfusion 94 5. Amniotic fluid embolism 96 6. Early pregnancy deaths 102 7. Genital tract sepsis 109 8. Other Direct deaths 118 9. Anaesthesia 122 Section Three: Indirect deaths 135 10. Cardiac disease 137 P1: FCG/FFX P2: FCG/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: FCG RGBK001-FM RCOG Press RGBK001-Clutton.cls October 25, 2004 22:19 vi Why Mothers Die 2000–2002 11. Deaths from psychiatric causes 151 Chapter 11A Deaths from suicide and other psychiatric causes 152 Chapter 11B Drug and/or alcohol related deaths 174 12. Other Indirect deaths 183 13. Deaths from malignancy 197 Section Four: Coincidental and Late deaths 205 14. Coincidental deaths and domestic violence 207 15. Late deaths 215 Section Five: Other key issues 219 16. Pathology 221 17. Trends in intensive care 234 18. Issues for midwives 243 Section Six: Epidemiology 265 19. ‘Near misses’ and severe maternal morbidity; the Scottish experience 267 20. Mortality in pregnant and nonpregnant women in England and Wales 1997–2002: are pregnant women healthier? 272 21. Trends in reproductive epidemiology and women’s health 279 22. Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths: developments and trends from 1952 onwards 296 Section Seven: Appendices 313 Appendix 1 Method of enquiry 315 Appendix 2 Assessors for the Maternal Deaths Enquiry and CEMACH Personnel 320 Appendix 3 Reports of Confidential Enquiries since 1952 326 Index 329 P1: FCG/FFX P2: FCG/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: FCG RGBK001-FM RCOG Press RGBK001-Clutton.cls October 25, 2004 22:19 vii PREFACE Fifty years ago, the Preface to the first Report on Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in England and Wales put the findings into their historical context. Between 1952 and 1954, there were 1,403 “direct” maternal deaths and 2,052,000 “confine- ments”, i.e. a woman faced a 1 in 1500 risk of dying directly as a result of pregnancy or childbirth. This represented an almost five-fold improvement when compared with 1928, when the Minister of Health was Neville Chamberlain and there had been 2,290 maternal deaths in relation to 660,267 live births, i.e. a pregnant woman faced a 1 in 290 risk of dying. The present figures are not entirely comparable. For example, the Enquiry now includes the whole United Kingdom. However, the closest compar- ison with the data for 50 years ago is provided by the figure of 106 direct maternal deaths in the UK during the 3-year period considered by the present report when there were 2,016,136 live births. This means a pregnant woman in the UK today faces less thana1in19,020 risk of dying from obstetric complications directly related to her pregnant state. In other words, there has been a 12-fold improvement when compared with 50 years ago and an almost 60-fold improvement since the 1920s, which is truly remarkable. A further 136 women died between 2000 and 2002 as a result of conditions indirectly related to the pregnancy. These include, for example, heart disease and psychiatric illness. This gives a risk of less than 1 in 7,750 of dying of a cause related either directly or indirectly to her pregnancy today. It is sobering to realise that, in some countries in the developing world today, in 2004, this risk is 1 in 16. While maternal mortality rates remain alarmingly high in many parts of the world, and in some places are actually increasing, the improvement in the rates in the United Kingdom is a major achievement. Nevertheless, outstanding concerns of the 1952 report were the frequency of toxaemia and haemorrhage, the complications of caesarean sections and of anaesthesia, and these also feature in the present report. This report raises many important health issues that are amenable to intervention. For example, one-third of the women who died were obese. The increases in mortality rates due to haemorrhage and in association with anaesthesia are worrying, but the overall most common cause of maternal death is an indirect one, psychiatric illness. The report highlights inequalities, which continue to cause concern in spite of having been identified by previous reports. The most disadvantaged women are 20 times more likely to die than those from higher socio-economic backgrounds, and women from ethnic groups other than white are three times more likely to die. Mortality rates among refugees and asylum seekers are particularly high. These problems are related to accessing health care and need to be addressed. This report is the result of hard work and commitment by a great number of people, but special thanks are due to Dr Gwyneth Lewis, Principal Medical Officer at the Department of Health.