Commentary on 'What about the mothers? An analysis of maternal mortality and morbidity in perinatal health surveillance systems in Europe'

摘要

This important paper from EURO-PERISTAT concludes correctly that routine registration data on maternal mortality are insufficient to monitor trends over time and for comparing countries. Unfortunately the World Health Organization relies solely on such data when producing maternal mortality estimates worldwide (Hogan et al,, Lancet 2010;375:1609-23). More sophisticated systems such as confidential enquiries reveal substantial under-reporting, with rates of almost 20% in France, 33% in the Netherlands, 38% in Austria, almost 50% in the UK, 50% in Poland, 75% in Italy and 87% in Slovenia. This makes routinely collected vital statistics less useful and comparison between countries meaningless. Sweden will soon publish data from active surveillance, which will Oluminate the extremely low official maternal mortality ratio in that country.