Let’s have a look at a case scenarios of a maternal death:

A woman had anaemia during pregnancy. 15 minutes after delivery she had a postpartum haemorrhage due to uterine atony. She died 30 minutes later as a result of hypovolaemic shock.

Hypovolaemic shock is a mode of dying and does not need to be reported on the death certificate. However, for illustration it is reported here as the immediate cause of death on line A of Part 1.

•Postpartum haemorrhage caused the hypovolaemic shock, so it is reported on line B of Part 1

•Uterine atony is the underlying cause of the postpartum haemorrhage, so it is reported on the lowest used line of Part 1.

•Anaemia would have contributed to the death, but is not part of the causal sequence in Part 1. Thus it is reported in Part 2.

•Tick “Yes” for the pregnancy question.