Virginia’s Maternal Mortality Review Team is dedicated to the identification of all pregnancy-associated deaths in the Commonwealth and the development of interventions that reduce preventable deaths. In order to reduce the maternal mortality rate, the CDC recommends that state-level, systematic reviews of all maternal deaths be undertaken to identify prevention and intervention strategies. These review teams have identified risk factors associated with maternal death such as mental illness, substance abuse, obesity and chronic illness as well as confirmed the relationship between pregnancy and homicide.