OBJECTIVE: to identify unreported concealed or presumable maternal deaths which occurred in the states of São Paulo, Paraná, Pará, Ceará, and Mato Grosso Brazil. METHODS: Data were collected from the CD-ROM Hospital Admission Authorization Database of the Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System (SIH-SUS) regarding records of obstetric procedures and secondary diagnoses between the years of 1999 to 2000. RESULTS: There were 651 maternal deaths registered. From those, 55 were registered as concealed or presumable maternal deaths according to Chapter XV of the International Classification of Diseases (DID-10) - Pregnancy, Delivery and Postpartum. CONCLUSION: This study showed that this information system can be used as a complementary measure for the identification of unreported maternal deaths.
Maternal mortality; Hospital information systems; Hospital records
