Maternal mortality in the U.S. Department of Defense, 1993-1998.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Department of Defense medical facilities from 1993 to 1998.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a retrospective review of birth data from military medical facilities using the Standard Inpatient Data Records from 1993 through 1998. The total number of live births and dispositions due to maternal death were obtained.

RESULTS

Twenty-two maternal deaths occurred in the study time out of 398,107 live births, for an MMR of 5.5 per 100,000 live births. The ratiosfor the service branches were: Army 7.0, Navy 5.3 and Air Force 3.6. The leading cause of death was embolic disease.

CONCLUSION

The military MMR is closer to the Healthy People 2010 goal of 3.3 than is the national ratio, 13.2. Improved reporting of cases, patient education and treating high-risk conditions may help further decrease pregnancy-related mortality.