The primary limitation of this study is that we did not record the individual characteristics of all maternities without severe maternal morbidity during the study period.
The prevalence of severe maternal morbidity was 530/100 000 maternities (0.53%).
Data on incidence of severe maternal morbidity were extracted from maternity records.
We identified 686 women with one of the five severe maternal morbidities in an estimated 775 186 maternities, representing a rate of 89 (95% confidence interval 82 to 95) cases per 100 000 maternities (fig 1).
Moreover, in this prospective study, severe maternal morbidity was identified from women's maternity records to minimise recall bias.
There was no significant association between maternal country of birth, marital status and public/private maternity care and the odds of severe maternal morbidity (table 2).
Results 686 cases of severe maternal morbidity were reported in an estimated 775 186 maternities, representing an estimated incidence of 89 (95% confidence interval 82 to 95) cases per 100 000 maternities.
The incidences of confirmed and presumed severe maternal GBS sepsis were 1.00 and 2.75 per 100 000 maternities, respectively, giving an overall incidence of 3.75 per 100 000 maternities.
The incidences of confirmed and presumed severe maternal GBS sepsis were 1.00 and 2.75 per 100 000 maternities, respectively, giving an overall incidence of 3.75 per 100 000.
A transversal study was conducted from September 1 , 2012to February 28 , 2013to identify cases of severe maternal morbidity and maternal near miss at the Dona Evangelina Rosa Maternity in Teresina, in the Northeast of Brazil.
