On this page:

The maternal mortality rate in Australia in 2020 was 5.5 deaths per 100,000 women giving birth (16 maternal deaths).

In the decade from 2011 to 2020, there were 194 women reported to have died during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy and a maternal mortality rate of 6.4 deaths per 100,000 women giving birth. These deaths are reviewed in this article along with contextual information for maternal death in Australia since 2011.

In Australia, where childbirth is safe for most women, maternal death is rare. All maternal deaths are reviewed by health professionals to determine the likely cause and whether the pregnancy contributed to the death.

Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and outcome of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Maternal deaths are divided into two categories, direct and indirect. Direct maternal deaths are those resulting from obstetric complications of pregnancy or its management. Indirect maternal deaths are those resulting from diseases or conditions that were not due to a direct obstetric cause, but were aggravated by the physiologic effects of pregnancy. Deaths considered to be causally unrelated to pregnancy are classified as coincidental (see below for more information on these deaths).

Coincidental deaths are defined as those that are reported to have occurred during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy, but are considered to be causally unrelated to pregnancy. Unlike direct and indirect maternal deaths, coincidental deaths are excluded from analysis and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) calculations.

There were 44 coincidental deaths in Australia from 2011–2020. The most common causes of these deaths were motor vehicle trauma and cancer. For more information visit data tables 1 and 2.

In 2020, there were 16 maternal deaths, or 5.5 deaths per 100,000 women giving birth.

Source: AIHW analysis of the National Maternal Mortality Data Collection and the National Perinatal Data Collection.