SynthesisGlobal health action2021
Maternal mortality in the covid-19 pandemic: findings from a rapid systematic review.
Synthesis in Global health action, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of postpartum depression in the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Prognostic accuracy of clinical markers of postpartum bleeding in predicting maternal mortality or severe morbidity: a WHO individual participant data meta-analysis.Lancet (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Global maternal mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2025Pooled it
- The Vitamin D Serum Levels in Pregnant Women Affected by COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Towards COVID-19 Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Rural Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.Maternal and child health journal · 2024Trial
- Letter to the editor regarding 'clinical characteristics and factors associated with in-hospital post-surgical mortality in COVID-19 patients at a tertiary care center in Karachi, Pakistan.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Global, regional and national burden of maternal haemorrhage (2000-2021) and projections to 2050 in 204 countries and territories.BMJ open · 2026Article
- The effects of COVID-19 on reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health service provision and utilisation: qualitative results from Burkina Faso and Mozambique.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Rapid assessment of the factors contributing to the increase in maternal mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Latin American region.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Strengthening Midwifery Services for Improved Maternal and Newborn Health Outcomes in Somalia: A Narrative Review of Epidemiological Patterns, Workforce Gaps, and Strategic Interventions.International journal of women's health · 2026Review
- Iran's progress in reducing maternal mortality: an analysis of policies and interventions using the who's six building blocks and universal health coverage approach.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Maternal mortality in Peru: trends, determinants, inequalities, and the impact of COVID-19.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the maternal mortality rate and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal in Brazil.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Dismantling inequities to end the black maternal mortality crisis in the United States.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Health providers' perspectives on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-epidemic measures on maternal health services in Nairobi, Kenya: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Spatial analysis of maternal mortality in Pernambuco before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2025Article
- Factors influencing vaccine acceptance in pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multicenter study from West Bengal, India.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Article
- Outcomes of COVID-19 in Pregnant Women: A Retrospective Analysis of 300 Cases in Jordan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- COVID-19 pandemic, pregnancy care, perinatal outcomes in Eastern Myanmar and North-Western Thailand: a retrospective marginalised population cohort.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Bridging Data Gaps: Predicting Sub-national Maternal Mortality Rates in Kenya Using Machine Learning Models.Cureus · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is having significant direct and associated effects on many health outcomes, including maternal mortality. As a useful marker of healthcare system functionality, trends in maternal mortality provide a lens to gauge impact and inform mitigation strategies.
objectiveTo report the findings of a rapid systematic review of studies on levels of maternal mortality before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsWe systematically searched for studies on the 1st March 2021 in MEDLINE and Embase, with additional studies identified through MedRxiv and searches of key websites. We included studies that reported levels of mortality in pregnant and postpartum women in time-periods pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The maternal mortality ratio was calculated for each study as well as the excess mortality.
resultsThe search yielded 3411 references, of which five studies were included in the review alongside two studies identified from grey literature searches. Five studies used data from national health information systems or death registries (Mexico, Peru, Uganda, South Africa, and Kenya), and two studies from India were record reviews from health facilities. There were increased levels of maternal mortality documented in all studies; however, there was only statistical evidence for a difference in maternal mortality in the COVID-19 era for four of these. Excess maternal mortality ranged from 8.5% in Kenya to 61.5% in Uganda.
conclusionsMeasuring maternal mortality in pandemics presents many challenges, but also essential opportunities to understand and ameliorate adverse impact both for women and their newborns. Our systematic review shows a dearth of studies giving reliable information on levels of maternal mortality, and we call for increased and more systematic reporting of this largely preventable outcome. The findings help to highlight four measurement-related issues which are priorities for continuing research and development.
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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.