Who dies of pregnancy & childbirth?
In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, <0.01% of women eventually die of pregnancy & childbirth. It is never the most likely cause of death for any one country, sex and age group — but it adds up over a lifetime.
The risk by age
Chance of dying of pregnancy & childbirth within 10 years, and its share of all the risk at that age — the median of 36 countries. Your own country's numbers are one click away on its page.
| Age | women |
|---|---|
| 15–19 | <0.01% (0.59% of the risk) |
| 20–24 | <0.01% (1.1% of the risk) |
| 25–29 | <0.01% (1.1% of the risk) |
| 30–34 | <0.01% (0.55% of the risk) |
| 35–39 | <0.01% (0.23% of the risk) |
| 40–44 | <0.01% (0.04% of the risk) |
| 45–49 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 50–54 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 55–59 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 60–64 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 65–69 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 70–74 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 75–79 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 80–84 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 85–89 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
| 90–94 | 0% (0% of the risk) |
Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries
What changes the odds
Antenatal care matters, and so does acting fast on warning signs — heavy bleeding, a severe headache, chest pain or breathlessness — in pregnancy and in the weeks after birth.
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Related: Congenital conditions
Questions
- At what age is pregnancy & childbirth most likely to be the cause of death?
- For women, pregnancy & childbirth takes its largest share of deaths at 20–24: 1.1% of the risk of dying in the next 10 years, in the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age.
- Which country has the highest risk of dying of pregnancy & childbirth?
- Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, United States has the highest lifetime chance of dying of pregnancy & childbirth for women (0.05%), and Slovenia the lowest (0%).
Computed by Odainn from official mortality statistics (Eurostat; ONS, NRS and NISRA; CDC; Statistics Canada) for 36 countries, latest years — how we calculate. Belarus is left out: deaths by cause and age aren't published together there, so the split by cause is our estimate. Population statistics, not a prediction for any individual. Educational, not medical advice.