[Maternal mortality in France, 2016-2018, frequency, causes and women's profile]

OBJECTIVE

To describe, for the 2016-2018 period, the frequency, causes and risk factors of maternal deaths in France.

METHOD

Data from the National Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths for 2016-2018.

RESULTS

For 2016-2018, 272 maternal deaths occurred in France up to 1 year after the end of pregnancy, i.e a maternal mortality ratio of 11.8 per 100,000 live births (95 % CI 10.4-13.3), and 8.5 (IC 95 % 7.4-9.8) for maternal mortality up to 42 days. Compared to women aged 20-24, the risk of maternal death is multiplied by 2.6 for women aged 35-39, by 5 for women aged 40 and over. Obese women are twice as frequent among maternal deaths (26 %) than in the general population of parturients (11 %). There are territorial disparities -the maternal mortality ratio in the French overseas departments is 2 times higher than in metropolitan France (significant difference but smaller than in 2013-2015)-, and social disparities -the mortality of migrant women remains higher than that of women born in France, particularly for women born in sub-Saharan Africa whose risk is 3 times higher than that of native women. One in three women who died (34 %) had socio-economic vulnerability versus 22 % in the overall population of parturients. Among causes of maternal deaths, the predominant role of psychiatric conditions (mostly suicides) is confirmed for the period 2016-2018, leading cause of maternal mortality considered up to 1 year (17 %), MMR of 1.9/100,000 NV. i.e. approximately one death from psychiatric causes every 3 weeks. Cardiovascular diseases are the second leading cause of maternal mortality up to one year (14 %) and the leading cause up to 42 days (16 %), with 1.3 deaths per 100,000 NV. Amniotic fluid embolism ranks as the third cause (8 %) (2nd cause, 11 %, for MM limited to 42 days), i.e. MMR of 0.9 per 100,000 NV. After a regular decline over the last decade, maternal mortality from obstetric hemorrhage is at a stable level compared to the previous triennium 2013-2015, MMR of 0.9/100,000 NV, i.e 5th cause of MM up to one year (7 %) and 4th cause of MM up to 42 days.

CONCLUSION

The overall national maternal mortality ratio does not show a downward trend, even with constant surveillance method. Territorial inequalities persist but change in their magnitude and in the regions concerned. The profile of the causes of maternal mortality up to one year of the pregnancy end shows the leading role of suicides and cardiovascular diseases, which illustrates that the health of pregnant women or those who have recently given birth is not limited to the obstetric domain, and highlights the importance of multidisciplinarity in the management and organization of care for women in this period.

[National confidential enquiry into maternal deaths in France, a 25-year enhanced surveillance system, essential for the reliable characterization of maternal deaths]

Although maternal mortality is rare in wealthy countries, it remains a fundamental indicator of maternal health. It is considered to be a "sentinel event", the occurrence of which indicates dysfunctions, often cumulative, in the healthcare system. In addition to the classic epidemiological surveillance findings - number of deaths, maternal mortality ratio, distribution of medical causes, sub-groups of women at risk - its study, through a precise analysis of the history of each woman who died, enables to highlight areas for improvement in the content or organisation of care, the correction of which will make it possible to prevent not only deaths but also upstream morbid events involving the same mechanisms. To achieve this dual epidemiological and clinical audit objective, an ad hoc "enhanced" system is needed. France has had such a system since 1996, the Enquête Nationale Confidentielle sur la Mortalité Maternelle (ENCMM), under the joint supervision of Santé Publique France and Inserm. The ENCMM method aims to identify maternal deaths exhaustively and reliably up to 1 year after the end of pregnancy, and to document each death as fully as possible. The 1st step is the multi-source identification (direct declaration, death certificates, linkage with birth certificates, hospital stay database) of women who died during pregnancy or in the year following its end. The 2nd step is the collection of detailed information for each death by a pair of clinical assessors. The 3rd step is the review of these anonymised documents by the National Expert Committee on Maternal Mortality, which establishes the maternal nature of the death (causal link with pregnancy) and, with a stated aim of improvement rather than judgement, assesses the adequacy of care and the preventability of the death. The summary of the information gathered for maternal deaths in the 2016-2018 period is presented in the other articles of this special issue.

[Maternal mortality, adequation of care and preventability, France 2016-2018]

OBJECTIVE

To describe, for the 2016-2018 period, the adequacy of care provided to women who died of maternal death in France, as well as the possible preventability of these deaths.

METHOD

National data from the Enquête Nationale Confidentielle sur les Morts Maternelles for 2016-2018. For each maternal death identified, the National Expert Committee on Maternal Mortality (CNEMM) assesses the adequacy of the care provided and whether the death was probably, possibly or not preventable.

RESULTS

For 2016-2018, 272 maternal deaths (considered up to 1 year after the end of pregnancy) occurred in France. Of these, 265 had sufficient information collected by the confidential survey and could be assessed by the CNEMM. In total, care was judged to be "sub-optimal" for 66% of deaths assessed for all causes, a proportion similar to that for previous periods. In addition to the obstetric and anaesthetic care provided at the time of the acute complication, which was judged to be sub-optimal for 45% (obstetric care) and 38% (anaesthetic care) of maternal deaths, this report highlights the scope for improvement in other types of care, more related to prevention and screening: "sub-optimal" preconception care for 51% of the women who died for whom it was justified, particularly notable for deaths linked to a preexisting condition (52%) and for suicides (67%); prenatal surveillance judged to be "sub-optimal" in 30% of cases, a sub-optimality also more frequent among deaths linked to a preexisting condition (35%) and suicides (34%). In all, 59.7% of maternal deaths assessed were judged to be "probably" (17%) or "possibly" (42.7%) preventable, a profile that remained stable. Suicide and other psychiatric causes, the leading cause of maternal death, were considered to be potentially preventable in 79% of cases. Deaths from haemorrhage remained largely preventable (95%, the highest proportion by cause). The factor most often implicated was inadequate care, and preventability linked to this factor was identified in 53% of deaths, all causes combined. Gap in organization of care was a preventability factor identified in 24% of deaths, and poor interaction between the woman and the healthcare system in 22% of deaths.

CONCLUSION

This proportion of more than half of potentially preventable maternal deaths shows that a reduction in maternal mortality in France is still possible and must be achieved, the objective being to prevent all preventable deaths. Analysis of the factors involved, overall and by cause of death, suggests areas for improvement.

[Maternal Mortality, Frequency, causes, women's profile and preventability of deaths in France, 2013-2015]

OBJECTIVE

To describe, for the 2013-2015 period, the frequency, causes, risk factors, adequacy of care and preventability of maternal deaths in France.

METHOD

Data from the National Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths for 2013-2015.

RESULTS

For the period 2013-2015, 262 maternal deaths occurred in France, one every four days, i.e a maternal mortality ratio of 10.8 per 100,000 live births (95 % CI 9.5-12.1), stable compared to 2010-2012. Compared to women aged 25-29, the risk is multiplied by 1.9 for women aged 30-34, by 3 for women aged 35-39 and by 4 for women aged 40 and over. Obese women are twice as frequent among maternal deaths (24 %) than in the general population of parturients (11 %). There are territorial disparities - the maternal mortality ratio in the French overseas departments is 4 times higher than in metropolitan France -, and social disparities - the mortality of migrant women remains higher than that of women born in France, particularly for women born in sub-Saharan Africa whose risk is 2.5 times higher than that native women. A striking result of the 2013-2015 period is the preponderance of suicides and cardiovascular diseases, the two leading causes of maternal mortality, each responsible for approximately one death per month. These two etiologies are not only the most frequent, but also among those with the highest proportion of preventable deaths, 91.3 % and 65.7 % respectively. Another important result is the continued decrease in mortality from obstetric haemorrhage, halved in 15 years, particularly the decrease n hemorrhages due to uterine atony. Overall, 57.8 % of maternal deaths are considered probably or possibly preventable and in 66 % of cases, the care provided was not optimal.

CONCLUSION

While the overall maternal mortality ratio remains stable overall, and territorial and social inequalities unchanged, the profile of the causes of maternal mortality is changing. Some developments are a success, such as the continued decrease in maternal mortality due to haemorrhage, the result of the general mobilisation of health actors on this issue. Others point to new priorities for mobilisation, in particular on the mental and cardiovascular health of women during pregnancy or in the year following childbirth. In order to go further in understanding the mechanisms involved, and to identify precise avenues for prevention, it is necessary to analyse in detail the stories of each maternal death in order to identify the opportunities for improvement repeatedly found in the series of deaths. This is what the following articles in this issue propose, with an analysis by cause of death.

[Enhanced system for maternal mortality surveillance in France, context and methods]

Maternal mortality, despite its rarity in rich countries, remains a fundamental indicator of maternal health. It is considered as a "sentinel event", consequence of dysfunctions of the health care system, often cumulative. In addition to the classical epidemiological surveillance outcomes-number of deaths, maternal mortality ratio and identification of the subgroups of women at risk-its study allows an accurate analysis of each deceased woman's trajectory to identify opportunities for improvements in the content or organization of care; the correction of which will make it possible to prevent deaths but also upstream morbid events affected by the same dysfunctions. To achieve this dual epidemiological and clinical audit objective, an ad hoc enhanced system is needed. France has had such a system since 1996, the National Confidential enquiry into maternal deaths (ENCMM), coordinated by the Inserm Epopé team. The first step is the multi-source identification (direct declaration, death certificate, birth certificates, hospital discharge data) of women who died during pregnancy or within one year of its end. The second step is the collection of detailed information for each death by a pair of clinical assessors. The third stage is the review of these anonymized documents by the National Committee of Experts on Maternal Mortality, which judges whether the death is maternal (causal link) and makes a judgment on the adequacy of care and avoidability of death. The synthesis of the information thus collected for maternal deaths in the period 2010-2012 is the subject of the last report.