UK and Ireland see sharp rise in maternal deaths

The number of women dying during pregnancy or shortly after has risen sharply in the UK and Ireland, with increases steepest in the most deprived areas, a report has found.

In 2018-2020, 229 women in the UK and Ireland died during or up to six weeks after pregnancy from pregnancy specific causes or conditions made worse by pregnancy, found the ninth annual report from Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries (MBRRACE-UK).1 This is a 24% increase compared with 2017-2019 and a 19% increase if covid deaths were excluded.

A further 289 women died between six weeks and one year after pregnancy during the same period, in line with …