Forensic Pathology Involvement in Maternal Mortality Review Committees

The objective of this paper is to outline the historical processes within the United States (U.S.) for gathering maternal death information, to highlight changes over time in how the data are reported, and to focus on current efforts to gather granular and accurate detail through the use of state-level Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRC). This paper will discuss the history of MMRCs, including the initiation of the first MMRC and the current state of MMRCs across the U.S. It will discuss the modern MMRC, including its mission, design, oversight, professional composition, objectives, and the role of the forensic pathologist/medical examiner. It will also highlight the components of a maternal death review, discussing how the determination of pregnancy-relatedness and preventability are made. Lastly, it will review how maternal mortality data is disseminated and used, with a discussion of how U.S. data and that of nations may differ.