Despite the standard definitions noted above, accurate identification of the causes of maternal deaths is not always possible. It can be a challenge for medical certifiers to attribute correctly cause of death to direct or indirect maternal causes, or to accidental or incidental events, particularly in settings where deliveries mostly occur at home. While several countries apply the ICD-10 in civil registration systems, the identification and classification of causes of death during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium remain inconsistent across countries. With the publication of the ICD-10, WHO recommended adding a checkbox on the death certificate for recording a woman’s pregnancy status at the time of death.
