Combating severe maternal morbidity
Date: Wednesday 23 April 2025
Time: 13:00-14:30 UTC
Description:
Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) can be defined as health-impacting and life-threatening events that occur during childbirth. Maternal complications may include severe postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), severe preeclampsia, eclampsia, sepsis and ruptured uterus, as well as severe complications from unsafe abortion. SMM may precede or be associated with maternal mortality but cases are significantly more common, leaving affected individuals with distressing short and long-term health outcomes. Approximately half of all SMM occurrences are avoidable. The remaining nonpreventable cases warrant meaningful improvements in care to limit negative impacts.
To combat these "potentially life threatening conditions," a comprehensive approach to maternal care that captures, anticipates and addresses all severe maternal complications is crucial. This webinar will explore this essential approach by bringing together top experts from around the world. Together, speakers will cover topics including epidemiology, maternal "near-miss" criteria, critical and emergency interventions and effective organisation of maternal care units.
Attendees will leave this webinar with a better understanding of what is needed to combat severe maternal morbidity. Presentations and discussions will help health professionals avoid these SMM scenarios with their patients when preventable and provide effective care to those with unavoidable cases.
This webinar is led by the FIGO Committee on Childbirth and PPH.
Introduction
Dr Edgar Iván Ortiz Lizcano, FIGO Vice President and Chair of the Education Communication and Advocacy Committee (ECAC), Colombia
Moderators:
Dr Jolly Beyeza, Chair FIGO Committee on Childbirth and PPH, Uganda
Dr Alison Wright, Associate Member FIGO Committee on Childbirth and PPH, United Kingdom
Speakers:
What is severe maternal morbidity? Definitions, incidence & regional differences
Prof Diana Ramašauskaitė, Associate Member FIGO Committee on Childbirth and PPH, Lithuania
Maternal near-miss criteria
Prof Ferdousi Begum, Member FIGO Committee on Childbirth and PPH, Bangladesh
Critical interventions - Caesarean and postpartum hysterectomy
Dr Albaro Jose Nieto Calvache, Member FIGO Committee on Childbirth and PPH, Colombia
Perimortem caesarean birth
Dr Akaninyene Eseme Bernard Ubom, Member FIGO Committee on Childbirth and PPH, Nigeria
Organisation of maternal critical care units
Prof Arthur Jason Vaught, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States