Consequences of Maternal Death in the Family

Abstract

Objective: Identify and analyze publications that deal with the implications or consequences of maternal death in the family. Method: A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative research published in journals indexed by biomedical databases in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Results: Three of the seven publications included in the study use a qualitative method, two rely on a quan- titative method, and two feature a quali-quantitative method, with provenances on the European and American continents. In total, 439 families of deceased women participated in the articles that were reviewed, and two historical reconstructions were done on the basis of family records of two populations. The dimensions of the consequences of maternal death are such that the impact on both the family and in the community lasts for a long time. In analyzing the findings, the authors found common problems such as grief, the survival of children and reconstruction of the household. Conclusions: Although not many studies have been done to identify and quantify the family consequences of maternal death and their analysis is restricted to a few qualitative studies, these consequences have a negative impact on family structure and dynamics, and contribute to an increase in child morbidity and mortality.