Amniotic fluid embolism
Sudden collapse in labour or just after birth with hypoxia and early DIC. The clinical diagnosis (Clark criteria), the differentials to exclude, resuscitation with uterine displacement and resuscitative hysterotomy at 4 minutes, blood products over crystalloid, and the SMFM 2026 checklist's stance against routine A-OK.
Tier 2Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- A rare, unpredictable syndrome: sudden cardiorespiratory collapse with DIC during labour, caesarean or within 30 minutes of placental delivery.
- Incidence in Australia and New Zealand is about 5.4 per 100,000 births with a case fatality of 15% (AMOSS 2010 to 2011). It remains a leading direct cause of maternal death in high-income countries.
- It is a clinical diagnosis of exclusion. No test confirms it.
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Sources
- Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special Statement: Checklist for initial management of amniotic fluid embolism, updated 2026Martinez-King LC, Combs CA et al. Pregnancy (Hoboken) 2026;2(5):e70364, 2026 (replaces the 2021 SMFM checklist)
- Amniotic fluid embolism: diagnosis and management (SMFM Clinical Guideline / Consult Series #41)Pacheco LD, Saade G, Hankins GD, Clark SL; Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016;215(2):B16-24, 2016 (management principles; resuscitation steps updated by the 2026 checklist)
- Proposed diagnostic criteria for the case definition of amniotic fluid embolism in research studiesClark SL et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016;215(4):408-12, 2016
- Amniotic fluid embolism: an Australian-New Zealand population-based studyAU/NZMcDonnell N et al (AMOSS). BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2015;15:352, 2015
- Amniotic fluid embolism in an Australian population-based cohortAU/NZRoberts CL et al. BJOG 2010;117(11):1417-21, 2010
- Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in amniotic fluid embolism: a systematic review of case reportsTrieu NHK et al. ASAIO J 2025;71(2):143-8, 2025
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy