Impact of Social Demographic Factors on Maternal Mortality in European Union: A Scoping Review Focused on France

Abstract

Background: The United Nation’s global strategy for Women and children’s health put at the center accelerated efforts to achieve Millennium Development goals 4 (MDG 4) which focuses on reduction of child mortality and goal 5 on improving maternal health. This scoping review aimed at determining the role of social demographics factors on Maternal Mortality (MM) in European Union with special focus on France as a case study. Methods: A scoping review was conducted, guided by the Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework and the PICO technique for reporting evidence. The research focused on published peer-reviewed articles and grey literature, examining existing sociodemographic factors associated with MM in the EU, with a particular emphasis on France. Eligible articles were searched in electronic databases including Scopus, PubMed, HINARI, Google Scholar, and the World Health Organization Institutional Repository for Information Sharing (IRIS). The review focused on systematically searched papers published in English between 2015 and 2025. Microsoft Excel was used to compile 70 studies identified, of which 32 met the eligibility criteria for the final sample. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: This study showed that MM in EU, including France is ranging from 2 to 12 per 100.000 live birth depending on a country. The most explored sociodemographic factors that had impacted on MM were maternal age, socio economic disparities, migrations and race, chronic diseases associated with socioeconomic disadvantage including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, psychiatric factors related to suicide, health care organization which does not favor the newcomers in the health care system. Conclusion: The findings of the current scoping review indicated that developed still records MM though at a low rate. Policies protecting marginalized or women with socioeconomic disparities, women in minority ethnicity should be put in place to protect the health of women so as all maternal death are eliminated.