Year: 2002 Source: Chronic Diseases in Canada, v.23, no.1, (2002), p.31-36 SIEC No: 20060940

As part of a study to determine whether maternal mortality in Canada is underreported, the validity of including deaths not directly related to pregnancy was explored. Live birth & stillbirth registrations were linked to death registrations of women of reproductive age from 1998 through 1992. Recently pregnant women were found to be much less likely to die by suicide or to be the victims of homicide. No empirical justification was found for including deaths not directly related to pregnancy in reported counts of maternal deaths for most of the causal categories that were considered inthe study. (16 refs.)