Maternal mortality in France

The authors present an analysis of maternal mortality in France. This topic has not been examined by an overall statistical study since 1959. The event is rare (117 deaths in 1977) and is decreasing with time (239 deaths in 1970). The authors used all the statistics which are routinely collected in France: cause of death public hospital morbidity the activity of public and private hospitals. Analysis of the results shows an increasing mortality with increasing maternal age. The rates for the different age groups decrease over time except for women over the age of 35. Regional analysis reveals a marked disparity which seems to be related to the neonatal mortality rate. (summary in ENG GER SPA) (EXCERPT)