title: Secular trends in maternal mortality in Sweden from 1750 to 1980.
abstract: Mortality statistics have been kept continuously in Sweden since 1750 and reveal that the maternal mortality rate declined from 900 to 6 per 100 000 live births over the period 1750 to 1980. Two-thirds of this decrease occurred during the 19th century and the remainder in the 20th century. In the 18th century, 10% of deaths among women aged between 15 and 49 years were due to complications at parturition, but today this accounts for only 0.2% of deaths in women of this age group. Life-table analysis indicates that 1 out of 29 women in Sweden lost her life in parturition during the 18th century, while today only 1 out of 1000 women dies as a result of complications during pregnancy and parturition.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden