[Pregnancy-related deaths. Genesis of the concept and methodological aspects].
Within the past 10 years, the outlook on the causes underlying maternal deaths has evolved, with the advent in the last "International classification of diseases" of the concepts of late maternal mortality and pregnancy-related mortality. Those concepts have led to an enlargement of the field, in terms of the range of causes as well as of the length of the time period at risk. Causes of death traditionally considered as "fortuitous" are now included in the count, given that the notion of pregnancy-related mortality covers all deaths occurring during pregnancy or at the latest one year after pregnancy termination, whatever the cause. Given this background, we critically review the definitions and classification systems of deaths of pregnant or post-partum women, and discuss the philosophy underlying these conceptual changes, and their consequences in terms of data collection and measurement issues.
Khlat
M
M
Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques, 133, boulevard Davout, 75980 Paris Cedex 20. khlat@ined.fr
Guillaume
A
A
D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008428:Maternal Mortality / Q000639:trends; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000592:standards; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors