In this issue, Takemoto et al. report on 124 maternal deaths among individuals with SARS‐CoV‐2 attributable acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in Brazil, leveraging an ARDS surveillance system established by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in 2009 in response to the H1N1 pandemic (Takemoto et al BJOG 2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/1471‐0528.16470). A total of 978 pregnant or postpartum individuals with ARDS who met the criteria for coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19) and whose survival status was known, were identified through this reporting mechanism between 26 February and 18 June 2020. Risk factors for maternal mortality included diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and postpartum presentation.