Table 2.
Demographic, obstetric, and clinical characteristics of women who had maternal infections by severity group
| All women (n=2850) | Less severe infections (n=1835) | Infections with complications*(n=634) | Infection-related severe maternal outcome†(n=381) | p value‡ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | .. | .. | .. | .. | <0·0009 | |
| <20 | 365 (12·9%) | 245 (13·4%) | 75 (11·9%) | 45 (11·9%) | .. | |
| 20–35 | 2104 (74·2%) | 1357 (74·4%) | 474 (75·0%) | 273 (72·2%) | .. | |
| >35 | 365 (12·9%) | 222 (12·2%) | 83 (13·1%) | 60 (15·9%) | .. | |
| Living with partner or spouse | 2332 (88·1%) | 1507 (88·1%) | 511 (87·8%) | 314 (88·7%) | 0·78 | |
| Schooling, years | .. | .. | .. | .. | 0·055 | |
| <5 | 174 (13·2%) | 102 (12·4%) | 40 (13·2%) | 32 (16·6%) | .. | |
| 5–8 | 327 (24·7%) | 202 (24·5%) | 79 (26·0%) | 46 (23·8%) | .. | |
| 9–11 | 450 (34·0%) | 275 (33·3%) | 110 (36·2%) | 65 (33·7%) | .. | |
| >11 | 371 (28·1%) | 246 (29·8%) | 75 (24·7%) | 50 (25·9%) | .. | |
| Number of previous births | .. | .. | .. | .. | <0·0001 | |
| 0 | 1250 (44·5%) | 867 (47·9%) | 264 (42·4%) | 119 (31·6%) | .. | |
| 1–2 | 1096 (39·0%) | 689 (38·1%) | 241 (38·7%) | 166 (44·1%) | .. | |
| >2 | 463 (16·5%) | 254 (14·0%) | 118 (18·9%) | 91 (24·2%) | .. | |
| Pregnancy status at the time of infection suspected or confirmed§ | .. | .. | .. | .. | <0·0001 | |
| Pregnant, not in labour | 964 (33·9%) | 749 (40·8%) | 109 (17·2%) | 106 (27·9%) | .. | |
| Pregnant, in labour | 369 (13·0%) | 303 (16·5%) | 38 (6·0%) | 28 (7·4%) | .. | |
| Post-partum | 1246 (43·8%) | 711 (39·1%) | 347 (52·8%) | 188 (49·5%) | .. | |
| Post-abortion¶ | 269 (9·5%) | 71 (3·9%) | 140 (22·1%) | 58 (15·3%) | .. | |
| Location at the time of infection suspected or confirmed§ | .. | .. | .. | .. | <0·0001 | |
| Arriving from home | 1464 (51·5%) | 985 (53·9%) | 339 (53·6%) | 140 (36·8%) | .. | |
| Transferred from another facility | 382 (13·4%) | 194 (10·6%) | 86 (13·6%) | 102 (26·8%) | .. | |
| Already hospitalised, non-intensive care unit | 926 (32·6%) | 650 (35·5%) | 169 (26·7%) | 107 (28·2%) | .. | |
| Already hospitalised in intensive care unit or high-dependency unit | 70 (2·5%) | 0 (0·0%) | 39 (6·2%) | 31 (8·2%) | .. | |
| Other complications | ||||||
| Anaemia during pregnancy, Hb <11 g/dL | 799 (36·3%) | 451 (32·6%) | 190 (37·4%) | 158 (51·1%) | <0·0001 | |
| Pregnancy-related hypertension | 296 (11·6%) | 134 (8·5%) | 77 (12·9%) | 85 (22·3%) | <0·0001 | |
| Pre-existing medical condition | 169 (6·6%) | 69 (4·4%) | 38 (6·3%) | 62 (16·3%) | <0·0001 | |
| Post-partum haemorrhage‖ | 229/1861 (12·3%) | 106/1184 (9·0%) | 49/417 (11·8%) | 74/260 (28·5%) | <0·0001 | |
| Obstructed labour or dystocia‖ | 117/1633 (7·2%) | 62/986 (6·3%) | 33/387 (8·5%) | 22/260 (8·5%) | 0·12 | |
| Abortion-related haemorrhage¶ | 127/322 (39·4%) | 23/97 (23·7%) | 65/158 (41·1%) | 39/67 (58·2%) | <0·0001 | |
Data are n/N (%).
Includes women who had an invasive procedure to treat the source of infection (vacuum aspiration, dilatation and curettage, wound debridement, drainage [incision, percutaneous, culdotomy], laparotomy and lavage, other surgery), admission to intensive care or high dependency unit, or transfer to another facility.
Maternal death or near-miss. Geographical areas in six western European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK) did not collect data for WHO near-miss criteria.
Multinomial mixed models adjusting for clustering at the country level.
Source of infection clinically, radiologically, or microbiologically confirmed.
Women who had an abortion, ectopic, or molar pregnancy.
Women who underwent childbirth (stillbirth or live birth).