Pregnancy-related mortality--Georgia, 1990-1992

Abstract

Many pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. State-based surveillance is important for identifying such deaths and developing prevention strategies. Surveillance for pregnancy-related deaths based only on ascertainment through death certificates underestimates actual deaths (1-7). However, when this surveillance method has been supplemented by linking death certificates of reproductive-aged women to birth and fetal death records, ascertainment has increased 1%-153% (1,2,4,6,7). In 1994, the Division of Public Health, Georgia Department of Human Resources, assessed the completeness of reporting of pregnancy-related deaths during 1990-1992 by comparing current death-certificate-based surveillance with a supplemental method of linking women's death records and infants' birth records. This report characterizes the increase in the total number of pregnancy-related deaths identified and presents specific causes of pregnancy-related deaths in Georgia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)