This analysis shows the serious implications of maternal near misses on health outcomes, highlighting WHO's definitions.
A "near miss" refers to an unexpected event that could have caused harm but did not result in any injury. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a maternal near miss as a woman who almost died but survived a life-threatening complication during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days after pregnancy termination. This term indicates that the woman's condition was serious enough to endanger her life, but she managed to survive, often due to intensive medical treatment. Maternal mortality serves as a crucial indicator in assessing maternal health outcomes. Enhancing maternal health is a key objective of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly Goal 5, which includes Target 5A, aiming to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters (1).
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Chandni et al. (2025) studied this question.
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