Facebook Youtube Linkedin

Every Woman Every Newborn EverywherE
Healthy Futures

Our Focus

Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response

©UNFPA/Rada Akbar.
Esther Okunia is a humanitarian midwife trained by UNFPA to support women and girls who are internally displaced in DRC due to conflict. Here she carries out a prenatal examination in July 2023.

Understanding why women and babies die

We must understand exactly why a woman died during or immediately after pregnancy and childbirth or why a infant died before it was born or in the first month of life –  to prevent other women and infants dying in the same way. The causes include medical causes of death and also the personal stories and underlying factors contributing to their deaths, such as delays in seeking and accessing care. Policy-makers and managers must know, understand  and factor in this broader picture to improve their health systems.

©UNFPA.

Telling women’s and newborn’s stories

This is where the maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR) system comes in – an approach to end preventable maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths. It is designed to enable these tragic stories of why the death occurred to be told, to improve the quality of care provided to women and their infants, and to reduce the unacceptably high burden of maternal and neonatal mortality.

MPDSR is a surveillance and quality improvement system that supports the achievement of the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere coverage targets and contributes to achieving the SDG mortality targets.

– Source: Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth: progress report 2023. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023

©UNFPA.
A midwife and pregnant woman in Bhutan in March 2023.

MPDSR: acting on the evidence

MPDSR involves a diverse range of stakeholders, including communities, health workers, professional associations, the Ministry of Health and partners to identify maternal or perinatal deaths, select cases to analyse, understand why, how and where the deaths occurred, and take action to prevent similar deaths occurring in the future.

Simultaneously, MPDSR monitors progress in implementing recommendations for change. It follows a cycle of notification, review, analysis and response for maternal deaths, stillbirths, and newborn deaths. It takes into account deaths in health facilities and in communities.

*Maternal Mortality Ratio, ** Perinatal Mortality Ratio

Source: Maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response: materials to support implementation.
Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021 (https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/348487).

MPDSR complements other national information systems, but the extent of integration of MPDSR with these existing systems varies from one country to another.

News and events

Load More

Resources

View Resources

Strengthening Implementation of Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR): Moving from Data to Action

A new BMC supplement on Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) looks at what implementation looks like in practice, highlighting research and programmatic insights from low- and middle-income countries working to improve MPDSR systems at national and subnational levels.The supplement ‘Strengthening Implementation of Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR): Moving from Data to Action’ features studies that explore:

 • Rapid MPDSR tools in humanitarian crises (Tigray, Ethiopia)
 • Community engagement to reduce blame and build trust
 • The economic case for investing in MPDSR
 • Country experiences from Nigeria, North Macedonia, and Sri Lanka
 • Measuring implementation progress in Uganda

Additional papers will be published on a rolling basis through 2025.

View Resource

Consolidated guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of postpartum haemorrhage

Published by the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the guidelines highlight the urgent need for earlier detection and faster intervention for PPH. They focus on the care of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the immediate postpartum period in any health care setting.

View Resource

Compendium on respectful maternal and newborn care

The compendium supports efforts to end mistreatment and achieve respectful maternal and newborn care. It is published by WHO together with UNFPA, UNICEF and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP), with support from Jhpiego and the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership programme. 

The purpose of the compendium is to consolidate key evidence, tools and resources to support the practical implementation of respectful maternal and newborn care across different contexts. It provides programme managers with essential background to build a foundational understanding of mistreatment and respectful care. As such, it serves as a comprehensive resource that integrates theory with practice.

View Resource

Explore further and accelerate change

Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response

QoC Network

Every Woman Every Newborn EverywherE
Healthy Futures

Get Involved

You can help us give mothers and their babies the best chance at life.

Follow us

Facebook X-twitter Youtube

Contact us

Email

Photo © 2020 WHO / Tatiana Almeida
Midwives during WHO Head of Sub-Office Dr Kai von Harbou visit to Hope Field Hospital

© 2024 ENAP EPMM | Privacy Policy | Website by Blick Creative