Summary Maternal disorders was responsible for 196 000 deaths (95% UI 171 000–226 000) among females aged 10–54 in 2019, a 35·1% (25·4–45·4) decrease since 1990. There were 112 million (99·3–126) incident cases of maternal disorders in 2019, an 8·7% (5·9–11·3) decrease since 1990.
Definition Fatal or non-fatal complications occurring during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Maternal deaths are due to obstetric complications or existing disorders exacerbated by pregnancy, up to one year post-pregnancy, excluding accidental and incidental deaths.
Total sources | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Incidence | 863 | |||||||||||
Prevalence | 34 | |||||||||||
Remission | 0 | |||||||||||
Causes of death | 0 | |||||||||||
Other | 3794 | |||||||||||
Table 1:
Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
- •Non-fatal data were age-split to fit GBD five-year age groups. Adjustments for alternative study methods and case definitions were applied to data prior to analysis in DisMod-MR 2.1.
- •A systematic review was conducted on May 10, 2019, and found 81 new data sources for both maternal deaths and non-fatal outcomes.
- •Cause of death garbage code redistribution was revised for the youngest and oldest maternal age groups.
- •Covariates based on the sub-cause-specific maternal mortality ratios (MMR) were used in the DisMod-MR 2.1 models estimating incidence ratios.
- •An ensemble model was used to select covariates for the sub-cause-specific MMR models.
Prevalence
|
Incidence
|
Deaths
|
YLLs
|
YLDs
|
DALYs
|
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cases
(millions) |
Rate (per 100 000)
|
Cases
(millions) |
Rate (per 100 000)
|
Deaths
(millions) |
Rate (per 100 000)
|
YLLs
(millions) |
Rate (per 100 000)
|
YLDs
(millions) |
Rate (per 100 000)
|
DALYs
(millions) |
Rate (per 100 000)
|
|
2019 | ||||||||||||
Both Sexes | 19·6 (16·3 to 23·3) |
248·8 (207·1 to 295·7) |
112 (99·3 to 126) |
1427·9 (1266·1 to 1607·8) |
0·196 (0·171 to 0·226) |
2·5 (2·2 to 2·8) |
11·4 (9·92 to 13·1) |
144·5 (125·7 to 166·0) |
1·28 (0·860 to 1·76) |
16·2 (10·8 to 22·3) |
12·7 (11·1 to 14·4) |
160·6 (140·4 to 182·5) |
Females | 19·6 (16·3 to 23·3) |
502·9 (418·7 to 598·0) |
112 (99·3 to 126) |
2889·4 (2562·9 to 3251·9) |
0·196 (0·171 to 0·226) |
5·0 (4·4 to 5·8) |
11·4 (9·92 to 13·1) |
292·2 (254·3 to 335·7) |
1·28 (0·860 to 1·76) |
32·7 (21·9 to 45·0) |
12·7 (11·1 to 14·4) |
324·9 (284·0 to 369·1) |
Males | -– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
Percentage change 2010-19 | ||||||||||||
Both Sexes | –1·6% (–3·3 to 0·3) |
–7·9% (–9·2 to –6·5) |
–4·3% (–5·8 to –2·8) |
–9·2% (–10·1 to –8·3) |
–18·1% (–27·4 to –7·8) |
–23·6% (–32·3 to –13·9) |
–18·8% (–27·9 to –8·6) |
–23·9% (–32·5 to –14·3) |
–2·5% (–4·3 to –0·7) |
–9·3% (–11·0 to –7·8) |
–17·4% (–25·8 to –8·1) |
–22·6% (–30·5 to –13·8) |
Females | –1·6% (–3·3 to 0·3) |
–7·6% (–8·9 to –6·2) |
–4·3% (–5·8 to –2·8) |
–8·9% (–9·8 to –8·0) |
–18·1% (–27·4 to –7·8) |
–23·4% (–32·2 to –13·7) |
–18·8% (–27·9 to –8·6) |
–23·7% (–32·3 to –14·0) |
–2·5% (–4·3 to –0·7) |
–9·1% (–10·8 to –7·5) |
–17·4% (–25·8 to –8·1) |
–22·4% (–30·3 to –13·6) |
Males | -– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
-– |
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals. |
Table 2:
Global prevalence, incidence, deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths | YLLs | YLDs | DALYs | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | 33rd | 23rd | 68th | 33rd | ||||||||
2010 | 39th | 28th | 73rd | 43rd | ||||||||
2019 | 48th | 30th | 77th | 48th | ||||||||
Table 3:
Rank among Level 3 causes for global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019, for both sexes combined

Figure 1:
Composition of DALYs by constituent Level 4 causes for both sexes combined, 2019

Figure 2:
Percentage of DALYs attributable to top risk factors for both sexes combined, 2019


Figure 3:
Age-standardised DALY rates for each location by SDI, both sexes combined, 2019

Figure 4:
Composition of DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019


Figure 5:
Age-standardised DALY rates (per 100 000) by location, both sexes combined, 2019