Abstract: Early identification and treatment of critically ill pregnant and postpartum women is the key to reduce maternal mortality. This paper reviews the high-risk factors of critically ill pregnant and postpartum women,the application status of early warning evaluation tools and the research progress of nursing intervention. In recent years,many early warning tools for pregnant women have been developed abroad,which play an important role in identifying and intervening early and reducing the incidence rate of critical maternal diseases. However,there is no domestic early warning and assessment tool for critically ill pregnant and postpartum women. Optimizing the quality of pregnancy health management,establishing a group pregnancy management model,strengthening the management of high-risk pregnant women and establishing an obstetric rapid response team will help to reduce the avoidable maternal mortality.

Key words: Critical Care Nursing, Maternal Health, Maternal Death, Early Warning Score, Review