Severe maternal morbidity in Ireland annual report 2019

Abstract

The eighth report from the National Clinical Audit of Severe Maternal Morbidity (SMM) in Ireland reports on 375 cases of SMM occurring in all 19 Irish maternity units in 2019. The SMM rate is a composite rate of a group of clearly defined severe maternal morbidities. Over two thirds of the women who experienced SMM in 2019 were diagnosed with one morbidity (n=253, 67.5%); 25% (n=95) were diagnosed with two morbidities; 6% (n=24) with three SMMs; 0.5% (n=2) with four morbidities; and 0.3% (n=1) with five morbidities. The SMM rate has shown a steady increase since the reference year of 2011. From 2011 to 2019, the SMM rate has increased by 68% from 3.85 to 6.47 per 1,000 maternities. The incidence has changed from one case of SMM for every 260 maternities in 2011 to one case in 155 maternities in 2019.