OBJECTIVE:

To classify extreme maternal morbidity according to the indicators proposed by the World Health Organization and to establish its prevalence in a second level hospital in northern Mexico. In addition, describe the medical-surgical interventions carried out to prevent maternal death.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Observational, cross-sectional and retrospective study of a series of cases of extreme maternal morbidity (treated between January 2015 and December 2018) that met the life-threatening conditions defined by the WHO. The information was obtained from the electronic file. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out using central tendency measures.

RESULTS:

There were 59,481 live births, including 2792 cases that met the inclusion criteria for extreme maternal morbidity. Eighty-six cases were eliminated due to incomplete information in the file. A total of 2706 cases of extreme maternal morbidity were analyzed, representing a prevalence of 4.5%, with an extreme maternal morbidity ratio of 45.49 per 1000 live births. Four cases of maternal death were recorded, representing a maternal death ratio of 6.7 per 100,000 live births.

CONCLUSION:

The prevalence of extreme maternal morbidity was lower than reported in Latin American countries and higher than in developed countries. There is an upward trend in the frequency of extreme maternal morbidity where hypertensive disorders are the most related life-threatening cause and sepsis has the highest mortality rate.