The Contribution of Suicide to Maternal Mortality: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

( BJOG . 2024;131(10):1392–1398. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.17784) Maternal suicide is defined as the death by suicide of a woman during pregnancy or during the first year postpartum and are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be classified as direct obstetric deaths. Evidence is being uncovered that maternal suicides comprise a significant portion of maternal deaths in high-income countries, and there are few infrastructures that support accurate reporting of these cases. Improving suicide prevention requires a more complete understanding of risk factors, including patient, clinician, and system-related factors. This study was designed to compare the incidence and proportion of maternal suicides in the Netherlands over time and identify risk factors while also assessing underreporting of maternal suicide.