Erika Troncoso

Analysis of maternal and abortion-related mortality in Mexico over the last two decades, 1990-2008

To document the relative contribution of abortion‐related deaths to overall maternal deaths in Mexico, official mortality data were analyzed according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. During 1990–2008, among 24 805 maternal deaths, 1786 (7.2%) were abortion related. Of these, 13.2% occurred in adolescents and 65% in uninsured women; 60% were probably associated with unsafely induced procedures. The study calculated the number of abortion‐related deaths per 100 000 abortion‐related hospitalizations, expressed as a modified abortion case‐fatality rate. During 2000–2008, this rate was 48 at the national level, with wide variations among states: from 140 deaths in Guerrero to 8 in Baja California Sur per 100 000 abortion hospitalizations. Unsafe abortion continues to represent a significant proportion of all maternal deaths in Mexico.