[Maternal deaths due to hypertensive disorders. Results from the French confidential enquiry into maternal deaths, 2010-2012].

Between 2010 and 2012, the rate of maternal death caused by hypertensive disorders (0,5/100,000 living birth) was reduced by 50% compared to the 2007-2009 period. Hypertensive disorders were responsible from 5% of maternal deaths and from 10% of direct maternal mortality. Eleven deaths happened during the postpartum period but 9 hypertensive complications began before delivery. Seventy percent of these deaths seem to be avoidable. The main causes of suboptimal management were: unappropriated or insufficient obstetrical and anesthetic treatments, undiagnosed HELLP syndrome and subcapsular liver hematoma, delayed treatment. The analysis of these maternal deaths gave the opportunity to stress some major lessons to optimize medical management in case of hypertensive diseases during pregnancy: abdominal symptoms during third trimester of pregnancy lead to search hypertensive disorders; HELLP syndrome with severe anemia indicate to carry out abdominal ultrasound.