Maternal mortality 2022-2024

Data brief: Maternal mortality UK 2022-24
January 2026

Main points

• In 2022-24 the overall rate of maternal death in the UK was 20% higher than it was in 2009-11 when the government set an ambition to halve the rate of maternal mortality in England. Exclusion of maternal deaths due to COVID-19 has a minimal impact on this figure, emphasising the importance of renewed efforts to tackle maternal mortality.
• The was no statistically significant difference in the overall maternal death rate in the UK between 2021-23 and 2022-24 but rates remained higher than the last complete triennium of 2019-21.
• The number of deaths due to COVID-19 dropped significantly with only six women dying from COVID-19 complications in 2022-24. When these deaths due to COVID-19 were excluded, rates of overall and indirect maternal deaths remained statistically significantly increased in 2022-24 compared to the corresponding rates in 2019-21, the last complete triennium.
• Thrombosis and thromboembolism remained the leading cause of maternal death in 2022-24 in the UK during or up to six weeks after the end of pregnancy. Cardiac disease was the second most common cause of maternal death followed by psychiatric causes.
• Maternal suicides remained the leading cause of maternal death occurring between six weeks and one year after the end of pregnancy. As a whole, deaths from psychiatric causes accounted for 33% of maternal deaths in this period.
• Inequalities in maternal mortality persisted in 2022-24. Compared to women aged 25-29, women aged 35 or older were nearly two times more likely to die. There was a nearly three-fold difference in maternal mortality rates for Black women compared to White women and Asian women's risk of maternal death was also slightly higher compared to White women. Women living in the most deprived areas continued to have a maternal mortality rate twice that of women living in the least deprived areas.

Maternal mortality rates, UK 2022-2024

1. Overall, 276 women died in 2022-24 during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy in the UK. The deaths of 24 women were classified as coincidental. Thus in this triennium 252 women died from direct and indirect causes, classified using ICD-MM (World Health Organisation 2012), among 1,969,321 maternities, a maternal death rate of 12.80 per 100,000 maternities (95% CI 11.27-14.48). This is not statistically significantly different to the rate of 12.82 per 100,000 maternities (95% CI 11.30-14.49) in 2021-23 (rate ratio (RR) 1.00, 95% CI 0.84-1.19, p=0.981) or the rate of 11.66 per 100,000 maternities (95% CI 10.23-13.23) in 2019-21, the last complete triennium (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.92-1.31, p=0.302) (Figure 1).
2. There were six women who died in 2022-24 during or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy from complications of COVID-19 infection; none of these deaths occurred in 2024. If the women's deaths attributable to COVID-19 were excluded, the maternal mortality rate for 2022-24 would be 12.49 per 100,000 maternities (95% CI 10.98-14.15). This is statistically significantly higher than the corresponding rate for 2019-21, the last complete triennium (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03-1.50, p=0.022) (Figure 1), and higher than the rate of 11.33 per 100,000 maternities (95% CI 9.90-12.90) for 2021-23 (Figure 1).
3. When deaths due to COVID-19 were excluded, the overall rate of indirect maternal death in 2022-24 was also statistically significantly higher than the corresponding rate for 2019-21, the last complete triennium (RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.12-1.93, p=0.004) (Figure 1).
4. Progress towards the government ambition to reduce maternal mortality by 50% between 2010 and 2025 in England can be assessed by comparing the rates of maternal deaths between 2009-11 and 2022-24. Over this time, the maternal mortality rate in the UK has increased by 20% (RR 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.44, p=0.038). The magnitude of this increase is only slightly reduced when deaths due to COVID-19 are excluded (RR 1.17, 95% CI 0.98-1.41, p=0.073). The rate of direct maternal deaths increased by 52% over this same period (RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.14-2.02, p=0.003) and the rate of late maternal deaths occurring between six weeks and one year after the end of pregnancy also increased by 20% (RR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02-1.40, p=0.022).

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Causes of maternal deaths, UK 2022-2024

1. As in the past two overlapping triennia, thrombosis and thromboembolism remained the leading cause of maternal death in the UK in 2022-24 followed by cardiac disease (Figure 2).
2. COVID-19 was no longer a leading cause of maternal death in 2022-24. Rates of maternal death due to COVID-19 continued to decline and were statistically significantly lower in 2022-24 compared with all previous triennia encompassing the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 2).
3. Thrombosis and thromboembolism was the leading cause of direct maternal death occurring at a rate more than twice that of any other direct cause. The next most common direct cause of maternal death was suicide followed by sepsis due to pregnancy-related infections (Figure 2).
4. After cardiac disease, the next leading indirect causes of maternal deaths in 2022-24 were other indirect causes of death, neurological conditions, and deaths due to psychiatric causes (substance use) (Figure 2).
5. Maternal suicides remained the leading cause of late maternal deaths occurring between six weeks and one year after the end of pregnancy. As a whole, deaths from psychiatric causes accounted for 33% of late maternal deaths in 2022-24.

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Maternal mortality amongst different population groups in 2022-2024

1. Overall, the rate of maternal death for women in the UK aged 35 or older was nearly twice that of women aged 25-29 (RR 1.62, 95% CI 1.17-2.26, p=0.002). Women aged 35-39 had similar rates of maternal death compared to women aged 25-29 (RR 1.30, 95% CI 0.91-1.87, p=0.136) but the risk for women over 40 years of age was almost three times greater (RR 2.90, 95% CI 1.87-4.43, p<0.001).
2. After slight decreases in the previous two overlapping triennia, the mortality rate for women in England from Black ethnic backgrounds was increased in 2022-24 and comparable to earlier rates including 2019-21, the last complete triennium (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.51-1.49, p=0.590). In 2022-24, women from Black ethnic minority had a risk of maternal death that was nearly three times higher compared to White women (RR 2.72, 95% CI 1.80-4.00, p<0.001) (Figure 3).
3. The mortality rate for women in England from Asian ethnic backgrounds was similar in 2022-24 and 2021-23 (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.56-1.47, p=0.668). The risk of maternal death for Asian women in 2022-24 remained non-significantly higher compared to White women (RR 1.27, 95% CI 0.86-1.84, p=0.202) (Figure 3).
4. Maternal mortality rates amongst women from mixed ethnic backgrounds in England were non-statistically significantly decreased in 2022-24 compared to 2021-23, but rates remained two times higher than in 2019-21, the last complete triennium, and women from mixed ethnic backgrounds had a 39% increased risk of maternal mortality compared to White women (RR 1.39, 95% CI 0.55-2.93, p=0.395). As noted in last year's report, low numbers of women from mixed ethnic backgrounds mean that this rate is subject to high levels of random variation (Figure 3).

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1. As consistently reported, women living in the 20% most deprived areas of England continued to have the highest maternal mortality rates in 2022-24, twice as high as the maternal mortality rate of women living in the 20% least deprived areas (RR 2.03, 95% CI 1.24-3.48, p=0.003).
2. While maternal mortality rates for women living in the most deprived areas were non-significantly decreased in 2022-24 from 2021-23, rates of maternal death for women living in other IMD quintiles continued to increase. Women living in the next most deprived areas (IMD IV) had maternal mortality rates that were also nearly twice that of women living in the least deprived areas (IMD I; RR 1.76, 95% CI 1.04-3.07, p=0.025) (Figure 4).

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The availability of denominator data from national datasets, 2024

• The total number of maternities for 2024, used to calculate overall mortality rates and rate ratios, was available for England and Wales on 27 August 2025 from the Office of National Statistics, for Scotland on 26 August 2025 from National Records of Scotland, and for Northern Ireland on 20 November 2025 from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
• NHS Maternity Statistics for England, accessible through NHS Digital, are used to calculate mortality rates and rate ratios for specific ethnic and socio-economic groups; for 2024 maternities these data were available on 16 December 2025. Had these data been available sooner, this data brief could have been published in early December, within one year of the reporting period.