ReviewBMC pregnancy and childbirth2013
Framing maternal morbidity: WHO scoping exercise.
Review in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of Race, Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Deprivation on Postpartum Haemorrhage in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Pooled it
- Mental health of adolescents associated with sexual and reproductive outcomes: a systematic review.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2021Pooled it
- Maternal multimorbidity during pregnancy and after childbirth in women in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Pooled it
- The global prevalence of postpartum psychosis: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2017Pooled it
- The prevalence of women's emotional and physical health problems following a postpartum haemorrhage: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2016Pooled it
- Observational
- A scoping study of postpartum mental health problems and associated factors: opportunities for research and practice.Discover mental health · 2025Review
- How maternal morbidities impact women's quality of life during pregnancy and postpartum in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia: A qualitative study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Documentation of Stigmatizing Language in Electronic Health Records and Birth Outcomes.Health equity · 2025Article
- Parturition at term in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2023Article
- Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy and Maternal Morbidity in South Ethiopia: A Cohort Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2023Article
- Observational
- Severe Maternal Outcomes and Quality of Maternal Health Care in South Ethiopia.International journal of women's health · 2022Article
- Health-Related Quality-of-Life and Associated Factors Among Post-Partum Women in Arba Minch Town.International journal of women's health · 2021Article
- Overall Maternal Morbidity during Pregnancy Identified with the WHO-WOICE Instrument.BioMed research international · 2020Article
- Article
- Standardizing the measurement of maternal morbidity: Pilot study results.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2018Article
- Maternal morbidity: Time for reflection, recognition, and action.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2018Article
- Burden of physical, psychological and social ill-health during and after pregnancy among women in India, Pakistan, Kenya and Malawi.BMJ global health · 2018Article
- Maternal morbidity measurement tool pilot: study protocol.Reproductive health · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMaternal morbidity estimations are not based on well-documented methodologies and thus have limited validity for informing efforts to address the issue and improve maternal health. To fill this gap, maternal morbidity needs to be clearly defined, driving the development of tools and indicators to measure and monitor maternal health. This article describes the scoping exercise conducted by the World Health Organization's Department of Reproductive of Health and Research (WHO/RHR), as an essential first step in this process.
methodsA literature review was conducted to identify the range of definitions and conditions included in various studies of maternal morbidity with a special focus on the similarities and discrepancies of the definitions used across the studies. Furthermore a questionnaire was developed which included sections on key areas identified during the review and was sent out electronically to 130 international experts in the field of maternal health.
resultsMaternal morbidities have been categorized in a variety of ways based on the causes, types of complications, and/or timeline. Issues regarding the time frame, severity, identification and classification and demographics were identified as key areas in the literature that require further investigation to achieve consensus on a maternal morbidity definition. Fifty-five (N = 55) individuals responded with completed questionnaires. Respondents' views on the time frame for the postpartum period varied from 6 weeks to beyond one year postpartum, it was noted that time frame depended on the type of complication. The majority of respondents said maternal morbidity should comprise a continuum of severity, whereas the identification of the cases should use a mixed criteria employing multiple methods.
conclusionsSignificant discrepancy in literature and expert opinion exists concerning elements of a maternal morbidity definition. There is a clear need for a concrete definition that would allow for consistent measurement and monitoring of maternal morbidity across settings and time.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.