Saving Mothers' Lives: - Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland

24
1 Which mothers died, and why
Table 1.14
Direct (including Late Direct) and Indirect deaths and rates per 100,000 maternities for singleton and multiple births;
United Kingdom: 1997-2005.
Singleton
Direct and Indirect deaths Relative risk of death
associated with multiple birth
Numbers Rate
95 per cent CI
(for rate)
Relative risk
95 per cent
CI (for risk)
Maternities
Numbers
1997-99 234 11.17 9.83 12.70 1.0 2,093,965
2000-02 255 12.96 11.46 14.65 1.0 1,967,834
2003-05 295 14.17 12.64 15.88 1.0 2,082,429
Multiple
1997-99 8 26.16 13.26 51.62 2.3 1.2 4.7 30,578
2000-02 6 20.24 9.28 44.17 1.6 0.7 3.5 29,638
2003-05 11 34.84 19.45 62.38 2.5 1.4 4.5 31,575
Assisted conception
As Table 1.15 shows, twelve women were known to have undergone In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) for infertility,
three resulting in a multiple pregnancy. Eight of the deaths were from Direct causes, four of which were due
to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). The other four Direct deaths were from sepsis, embolism and
bleeding and were not related to IVF. There was one Indirect and three Late deaths from unrelated causes.
The numbers of treatment cycles shown in Table 1.15 come from a reanalysis of data by the Human
Fertilisation and Fertilisation Authority (HFEA) 11 based on year of procedure. These differ from analyses
in previous Reports which were based on IVF data which were published on a fi nancial year basis. The
data in Table 1.15 also relate to procedures undertaken in clinics in the United Kingdom during a calendar
year, rather than maternities in the year to women who had undergone assisted conception. There are
other uncertainties in the data as some of the women were resident outside the United Kingdom and may
have returned home to give birth. Information about this has not been consistently recorded in the records
sent by clinics to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. There are also anecdotal accounts of
United Kingdom residents having assisted conception abroad, but no data on the subject.
Table 1.15
Maternal deaths and rates per 100,000 assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures, including IVF;
United Kingdom: 1997-2005.
Deaths Numbers of
treatment cycles
Number Rate 95 per cent CI
1997-99 20 19.17 12.41 29.61 104,320
2000-02 8 7.32 3.71 14.44 109,308
2003-05 12 10.08 5.76 17.61 119,080
* Source Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 11 .