How much can we reduce delivery-related medical costs associated with maternal mortality? A nationwide cohort study from 2003 to 2021

Objective: This study aims to examine the association between maternal mortality and childbirth-related medical costs using both unadjusted and adjusted models and to assess the potential reduction in delivery-related medical costs associated with maternal mortality in South Korea. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from the National Health Insurance Service Delivery Cohort Database of South Korea. A total of 7,171,578 participants were included. The outcome measured was delivery-related medical costs associated with maternal mortality. A Generalized Estimating Equation model with a log link and gamma distribution was used to estimate delivery-related medical costs. Results: < 0.0001). The total delivery-related medical costs for all women with maternal mortality were approximately $2 million, accounting for 0.06% of total delivery-related medical costs. Although this proportion is relatively small, 83% of the direct medical costs associated with maternal mortality among South Korean women were potentially reducible. Conclusion: This study found that maternal mortality is associated with significantly higher delivery-related medical costs, nearly six times those of non-maternal mortality cases. Therefore, policymakers should consider reducing costs and improving maternal health outcomes, expanding access to prenatal care for early risk detection and strengthen nationwide maternal health monitoring systems

Biology · Cohort · Cohort study · Environmental health · Intensive care medicine · Maternal morbidity · Pregnancy · Global Maternal and Child Health · Maternal and fetal healthcare · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine · Emergency Medicine · Internal Medicine

• Global, regional, and national levels and causes of maternal mortality during 1990–2013

  Open Access•Nicholas J Kassebaum, Amelia Bertozzi-Villa et al.•The Lancet•2014

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