Knowledge Summary 27: Death reviews: maternal, perinatal and child

Many maternal, perinatal and child deaths are preventable and progress towards Millennium Development Goals 4&5, to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, has been insufficient in many parts of the world. Well-implemented death reviews provide opportunities to examine the circumstances surrounding a woman’s or child’s death, and improve the delivery of health services to prevent such deaths in the future. Several types of review processes exist to evaluate deaths in diverse settings, given different data availability and levels of service delivery. Both consistent surveillance and effective response are needed to ensure that maternal, perinatal and child deaths are identified and reviewed, so that recommendations can be made, and action can be taken to prevent further deaths.