The California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (CA-PAMR) is a statewide, in-depth examination of deaths while pregnant or within one year after end of pregnancy, which aims to identify the cause and timing of death, factors that contributed to the death, and improvement opportunities in maternity care and support, with the ultimate goal to reduce preventable deaths and associated health disparities. CA-PAMR is a collaborative effort between the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and its partners, Stanford University's California Maternal Quality of Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and the Public Health Institute (PHI). Funding for CA-PAMR comes from the Federal Title V Maternal Child Health Block Grant.

CA-PAMR was launched in 2006, when the California maternal mortality rates were at their peak, to investigate the rise in maternal mortality rates as well as the widening racial/ethnic disparities and identify improvement opportunities. Since 2008, California has sustained a decline in maternal mortality and in 2013 the California maternal mortality rate was 7.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, nearly half of the 2008 rate.

Reviews of maternal death are based on vital statistics and hospital data, which are used to identify cases, and are typically available within three years of their public release. Reviews of obstetric-related deaths from 2008-2013 are currently underway.

For more information about the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (CA-PAMR), see our About page.

Origins | Methods | Key Findings | Key Definitions