Table 3 Characteristics of the included studies. Ribeirão Preto – São Paulo, Brazil, 2024

Norhayati, 2017, Malaysia [24]

To explore the experiences of women with MNM and their perception of the quality of care.

Phenomenology Interview

Women with criteria for MNM admitted to maternal services.

Kwezi, 2021, Tanzania [25]

To explore experiences of communication as an element of quality of care among women who have survived an MNM event

Semi-structured interviews

Phenomenology

Women who experienced and survived an MNM event.

TorkmannejadSabzevaria, 2022, Iran [26]

To learn about the experiences of women with MNM.

Semi structured interviews.

Content analysis

Women with experience in MNM.

Herklots, 2020, Tanzania [27]

To explore the stories of three women who survived life-threatening obstetric complications.

Participant observation

Unstructured interviews

Focus Group

Theory Grounded in Data

Women who survived MNM recruited from a MNM cohort study

Påfs, 2016 Rwanda [28]

To explore care seeking and maternity care experiences among women who have experienced an MNM event early or late in pregnancy and identify potential health system barriers and limitations to maternal survival in this setting.

Unstructured interviews

Model of the three delays (Thaddeus and Maine, 1994)

Women with WHO MNM criteria, from the 28th gestational week.

Rangel-Flores, 2019, Mexico [29]

To analyze the experiences of MNM survivors based on the three delays model and identify obstacles.

Interviews

Grounded theory

Women surviving extreme maternal morbidity events.

Mohammadi, 2017, Iran [30]

To explore experiences of maternal care among Afghan women who have survived MNM, to increase awareness of health improvements for migrants.

RT structured interview: models of the three delays (Thaddeus and Maine, 1994)

Women surviving episodes of MNM during childbirth.

Byrd, 2022, USA [31]

To understand the experience of black women who had a MNM in the context of a hospital environment.

Semi-structured interviews

Phenomenology

Black women surviving episodes of MNM in the hospital environment.

Abdollahpour, 2022, Iran [32]

To explore in depth the meaning of MNM everyday lived experiences in the social and cultural background of Iran.

Unstructured interviews

Hermeneutic phenomenology

Women surviving MNM discharged from hospital.

Abdollahpour, 2022, Iran [33]

To understand the mothering experiences of surviving mothers of maternal near miss event.

Unstructured interviews

Hermeneutic phenomenology

MAXQDA10 Software

Women surviving MNM discharged from hospital.

Bangambe, 2022, Rwanda [34]

To explore in-depth insights from MNM experiences.

Interviews

Grounded theory

Women who have experienced MNM

Hinton, 2015, United Kingdom [35]

To understand the experiences of women who experience MNM in childbirth

Semi structured interviews

Thematic analysis

UK-based women who have had an MNM event at birth.

Hinton, 2015, England and Scotland [36]

To explore women and their partners’ experiences of life-threatening illnesses in childbirth, to identify the long-term impacts on women and their families.

Semi structured interviews

Thematic analysis

UK-based women who have had an MNM event at birth.

Amegavluie, 2022, Ghana [37]

To describe the impact of serious obstetric complications on the quality of life and well-being of women after surviving serious obstetric complications.

Unstructured interviews

Thematic analysis

Women who survived serious obstetric complications from the time of discharge from the health facility until 1 year after childbirth.

Silva, 2016, Brazil [38]

To understand and analyze the experiences of women who developed an episode of MNM

Semi structured interviews

Social Representations

Women diagnosed with organ dysfunction according to MNM criteria

Narváez, 2022, Colombia [39]

To understand the meanings attributed to extreme maternal morbidity (EMM) by survivors of the experience and the effect of these meanings on the processes of reconstruction of everyday life.

Semi structured interviews

Symbolic interactionism

Women who survived an EMM

Aguiar, 2016, Brazil [40]

Analyze the collective memories present in narratives of women who experienced the MNM event

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic Oral History

Women who reported having experienced one or more potentially life-threatening serious maternal complication and/or who were subjected to some critical intervention were considered MNM.

Kaye, 2014, Uganda [41]

To understand how obstetric complications affect the lives and livelihoods of survivors.

Structured interview

Phenomenology

Women admitted to high-risk hospital units with MNM