rate at which it occurs is 1 instance per 20,000 births. Though rare, it comprises 10% of all maternal deaths. History This rare complication has been recorded seventeen times prior to 1950. The complication was originally described in 1926 by J. R. Meyer at the University of Sao Paulo. A 1941 case study of eight autopsies of pregnant women who died suddenly during childbirth by Clarence Lushbaugh and Paul Steiner enabled widespread recognition of the diagnosis within the medical community, and was eventually republished as a landmark paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association. References External links Pathology of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium Complications of labour and delivery