MBRRACE-UK: Maternal mortality 2022-2024

Summary

This data brief shares key statistics concerning maternal mortality in the UK from 2022 to 2024. During this period, the overall rate of maternal death in the UK was 20% higher than it was in 2009-11 when the government set an ambition to halve the rate of maternal mortality in England.

Content

Key points highlighted in this data brief include:

• Exclusion of maternal deaths due to COVID-19 has a minimal impact on the increase in the overall rate of maternal death in the UK compared to 2009-11, emphasising the importance of renewed efforts to tackle maternal mortality.
• The was no statistically significant difference in the overall maternal death rate in the UK between 2021-23 and 2022-24 but rates remained higher than the last complete triennium of 2019-21.
• The number of deaths due to COVID-19 dropped significantly with only six women dying from COVID-19 complications in 2022-24. When these deaths due to COVID-19 were excluded, rates of overall and indirect maternal deaths remained statistically significantly increased in 2022-24 compared to the corresponding rates in 2019-21, the last complete triennium.
• Thrombosis and thromboembolism remained the leading cause of maternal death in 2022-24 in the UK during or up to six weeks after the end of pregnancy. Cardiac disease was the second most common cause of maternal death followed by psychiatric causes.
• Maternal suicides remained the leading cause of maternal death occurring between six weeks and one year after the end of pregnancy. As a whole, deaths from psychiatric causes accounted for 33% of maternal deaths in this period.
• Inequalities in maternal mortality persisted in 2022-24. Compared to women aged 25-29, women aged 35 or older were nearly two times more likely to die. There was a nearly three-fold difference in maternal mortality rates for Black women compared to White women and Asian women's risk of maternal death was also slightly higher compared to White women. Women living in the most deprived areas continued to have a maternal mortality rate twice that of women living in the least deprived areas.