SynthesisInternational journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics2018
The frequency of maternal morbidity: A systematic review of systematic reviews.
Synthesis in International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 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
31 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Global burden of potentially life-threatening maternal conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Pooled it
- Timing of maternal mortality and severe morbidity during the postpartum period: a systematic review.JBI evidence synthesis · 2022Pooled it
- Incidence of and Risk Factors for Lactational Mastitis: A Systematic Review.Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association · 2020Pooled it
- Economic burden of maternal morbidity - A systematic review of cost-of-illness studies.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- Incidence of maternal peripartum infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Postnatal Care Service Utilization and Associated Factors Among Women in Rural Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2022-2023 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of postpartum care to improve women's health and quality of life in Southeast Asia: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Necrotizing Fasciitis of the Forearm in a 20-Week Pregnant Woman: Case Report and Literature Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Only three out of ten women received adequate postnatal care in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from 20 countries demographic and health surveys (2015-2022).BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Beyond survival: The impact of birth complications on postpartum wellbeing for mothers, babies, and households in Kenya.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- The prevalence and persistence of maternal morbidities after first vs. second birth: A prospective cohort study in Ireland.PloS one · 2025Article
- Factors influencing early postnatal care use among postpartum women in Afghanistan.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Is MIStreatment of women during facility-based childbirth an independent risk factor for POstpartum Depression in Ethiopia and Guinea? A mixed methods prospective study protocol-MISPOD study.Reproductive health · 2024Article
- Current Approaches to Following Up Women and Newborns After Discharge From Childbirth Facilities: A Scoping Review.Global health, science and practice · 2024Article
- Global burden and inequality of maternal and neonatal disorders: based on data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study.QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians · 2024Article
- Adapting group care to the postpartum period using a human-centered design approach in Malawi.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Adaptation and implementation of clinical guidelines on maternal and newborn postnatal care in Iran: study protocol.Reproductive health · 2023Article
- Associations of Adverse Childhood Experiences With Pregnancy and Infant Health.American journal of preventive medicine · 2023Article
- A mixed-methods study exploring women's perceptions and recommendations for a pregnancy app with monitoring tools.NPJ digital medicine · 2023Article
- Examining maternal morbidity across a spectrum of delivery locations: An analysis of the Global Network's Maternal and Neonatal Health Registry.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEstimates of the burden of maternal morbidity are patchy.
objectiveTo conduct a systematic review of systematic reviews of maternal conditions to: (1) make available the most up-to-date frequency estimates; (2) identify which conditions do not have reliable estimates; and (3) scrutinize the quality of the available reviews. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched Embase, MEDLINE, and CINAHL, combining terms for pregnancy, frequency (e.g. prevalence, incidence), publication type, and specific terms for each of 121 conditions. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included peer-reviewed systematic reviews aiming to estimate the frequency of at least one of the conditions in WHO's list of maternal morbidities, with estimates from at least two countries. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We present the frequency estimates with their uncertainty bounds by condition, region, and pregnancy/postpartum period. We also assess and present information on the quality of the systematic reviews. MAIN
resultsOut of 11 930 found, 48 reviews were selected and one more was added. From 49 reviews we extracted 34 direct and 60 indirect frequency estimates covering 35 conditions. No review was available for 71% of the conditions on the WHO list. The extracted estimates show substantial maternal morbidity, spanning the time before and beyond childbirth. There were several gaps in the quality of the reviews. Notably, one-third of the estimates were based only on facility-based studies.
conclusionsGood-quality systematic reviews are needed for several conditions, as a research priority.
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