The National Annual Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response report by Kenya's Health Ministry, released in May 2025, highlights the maternal conditions contributing to perinatal deaths in the country for 2020/2021 and 2021/2022.
The report indicates that "No maternal conditions identified" was the leading category at 35% for both periods.
Maternal complications during pregnancy decreased from 20.8% to 17.4%, while complications of placenta, cord, and membrane saw a slight rise from 16.7% to 17.7%.
Other childbirth complications reduced from 14.3% to 12.6%.
Of concern, maternal medical and surgical conditions increased from 7.1% to 9.8%.
Perinatal death refers to the death of a fetus or newborn around the time of birth.
