TOP doctors are calling for better care of pregnant women and new mothers to reduce the number of maternal deaths.

Dr Catherine Calderwood, currently Scotland's Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer, is among the clinicians saying more needs to be done to prevent the deaths of women before and after childbirth.

Two royal medical colleges are also backing the call for urgent action, which follows a meeting bringing together leading experts in Glasgow.

The number of women dying in childbirth or from a direct complication of their pregnancy - such as bleeding - has fallen across the UK in recent years. However, the number who die from other medical problems - such as flu, a blood clot, infection or suicide - has remained the same for almost 10 years.

Between 10 and 15 expectant or recently pregnant women are said to die in Scotland every year.

Dr Frank Dunn, president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG), said he believed the number of deaths was "too high".

"The death of a woman during pregnancy or in the weeks after giving birth is a tragedy that has major implications in so many areas, not least in the impact on her newborn child," he said.

The RCPSG hosted the meeting of experts to "produce recommendations and actions" which they hope will save lives.

A guide to their key messages for doctors will be issued to all medical staff in Scotland later this year.

They are highlighting the need for junior healthcare staff to seek advice from consultants when seeing sick women who are pregnant or have recently given birth, rather than deal with cases on their own.

They say such patients should be "red flagged" and examined by specialists in both obstetrics and medicine.

They also want better education of mothers with long-term health problems, such as epilepsy, with advice given on taking medication when trying for a family and pregnant women encouraged to accept the offer of a flu vaccine.

Prof Derek Bell, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said: "Every maternal death is one too many. We need to find ways of reducing the rate of maternal deaths throughout Scotland and the rest of UK further, particularly those caused by indirect medical complications including sepsis (severe infection) and flu. Improvements are also required in the provision of critical care for pregnant women who suddenly become unwell."

In 2012 a Scottish GP, Fiona Agnew, died when she was 35 weeks pregnant with her second child after suddenly falling ill with sepsis.

Her husband Craig Stobo, set up the Fiona Elizabeth Agnew Trust (FEAT) in her memory to raise awareness of sepsis and fund research into the condition - which occurs when the body's response to an infection spirals rapidly out of control and makes it injure its own tissues and organs.

Mr Stobo said he welcomed the doctors' drive to prevent the deaths of pregnant women both personally and on behalf of FEAT.

Mr Stobo, said: "Having been through it, I can say it is just the worst thing that can happen to a young family."

He described the onset of sepsis, which he suffered shortly before his wife fell ill, as "brutal". He added: "The thing with Fiona's situation was she was taken to hospital very quickly and was diagnosed and treated very quickly and frankly the treatments just did not work.

"I have spoken to a lot of medics and there are just certain things we do not understand about why certain people do not respond to treatment."

A report into maternity care in the UK and Ireland, published in December 2014, found one-third of maternal deaths were a direct consequence of pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia or bleeding and two-thirds were due to medical and mental health problems.

The RCPSG say the findings suggest when a pregnant woman or a mother who has recently given birth turns to the NHS with symptoms of illness, they are too frequently put down to the pregnancy or labour. This assumption, they warn, is often the basis for substandard care and tragic outcomes.

Dr Calderwood, acting deputy chief medical officer for Scotland, said: "While maternal deaths are very rare, the effects it has on a family are tragic. It is encouraging to see that the number of cases is continuing to decrease. However, we must continue to drive improvements to reduce the rate even further.

"I welcome both the suggestion that collaboration across health services is key to improving care and outcomes for pregnant women, and the proposal for a position statement from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow as a positive step in improving patient safety."