Abstract
Pregnancy-related critical illness and death are important global causes of morbidity and mortality. In the developed world, although rates have fallen substantially over the past century, maternal mortality remains at around 10/100,000 live births. For each maternal death, nine women develop severe maternal morbidity or critical illness, accounting for approximately 1.5% of the admissions to ICU. Major reasons underlying ICU admission include: pregnancy induced hypertension syndrome, obstetric hemorrhage and pregnancy-related sepsis, collectively accounting for approximately 70% of all ICU admissions. There are also physiological changes during pregnancy that influence both the likelihood of becoming critically ill, and the manner in which patients are treated. Similarly, it is important to understand the influence of maternal critical illness on the fetus, and how treatment strategies for the mother influence fetal outcome.
