Most pregnant women have healthy pregnancies and babies. However sometimes things don’t go well. Pregnant  women may encounter complications. In rare occasions, these complications become severe and result in maternal death.

Maternal death is when a woman dies during pregnancy or within a year after pregnancy as a result  health problems stemming from pregnancy or child  birth.

What are the causes of maternal death ?

Health problems that can lead to maternal death in the united States include the following:

• cardiovascular disease like stroke  and high blood pressure. During pregnancy you have twice as much blood in your body than you did before pregnancy. This makes your  heart work harder to pump blood to the rest of the body.  Hormonal changes during pregnancy  and child-birth increases your risk for a stroke . High blood pressure can lead to  stroke.  High blood pressure during pregnancy can also lead to preeclampsia.
• amniotic fluid embolism : This condition is rare and happens  during or right after labor. It happens when some of the amniotic fluid or baby’s cells move into the blood stream and into the lung.
• hemorrhage   is also known as heavy bleeding. Preterm labor and placental problems  like placental abruption can result in hemorrhage. It becomes dangerous when the provider can’t stop it. Hemorrhage can happen after child-birth when the vagina or cervix is torn or cut during childbirth or if the uterus doesn’t contract after delivery.
• anesthesia problems : Anesthesia is given to reduce or prevent pain. It may be given during  labor and birth. Most people have no problems with it but some people react differently . Too much anesthesia can cause problems with breathing, heartbeat or blood pressure.
• heart muscle disease also known as cardiomyopathy is when your heart is larger, thicker or more rigid than normal. This can make the heart weaker and more difficult for it to pump blood effectively to parts of the body. It can as a result lead to irregular heartbeat, heart failure and fluid buildup in lungs and legs.
• infection  during pregnancy such as with  group B strep ( an infection from bacteria) can lead to sepsis which can result in organ failure and death
• pulmonary embolism is when a blood clot blocks an artery in the lung. It usually happen when a blood clot in the leg known as deep vein thrombosis DVT breaks loose and travel to the lungs. This condition can be fatal

How to reduce your risk of maternal death ?

You can reduce your risk of maternal death by doing the following:

• get a preconception check up
• get early and regular prenatal care
• after childbirth, keep an eye on warning signs of health problems such as bleeding and infections