2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code O94

Sequelae of complication of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium

ICD-10-CM Code:
O94
ICD-10 Code for:
Sequelae of comp of pregnancy, chldbrth, and the puerperium
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Not chronic
Code Navigator:

O94 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of sequelae of complication of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2024 through September 30, 2025. The code is exempt from present on admission (POA) reporting for inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals.

The code O94 is applicable to female patients aged 12 through 55 years inclusive. It is clinically and virtually impossible to use this code on a non-female patient outside the stated age range.

O94 is a sequela code, includes a 7th character and should be used for complications that arise as a direct result of a condition like e of complication of pregnancy childbirth and the puerperium. According to ICD-10-CM Guidelines a "sequela" code should be used for chronic or residual conditions that are complications of an initial acute disease, illness or injury. The most common sequela is pain. Usually, two diagnosis codes are needed when reporting sequela. The first code describes the nature of the sequela while the second code describes the sequela or late effect.

Code Classification

  • Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium
    O00-O9A
    • Other obstetric conditions, not elsewhere classified
      O94-O9A
      • Sequelae of complication of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium
        O94

Approximate Synonyms

The following list of clinical terms are approximate synonyms, alternative descriptions, or common phrases that might be used by patients, healthcare providers, or medical coders to describe the same condition. These synonyms and related diagnosis terms are often used when searching for an ICD-10 code, especially when the exact medical terminology is unclear. Whether you're looking for lay terms, similar diagnosis names, or common language alternatives, this list can help guide you to the correct ICD-10 classification.

  • Death from sequela of indirect maternal cause
  • Elderly primigravida
  • Elderly primigravida with antenatal problem
  • Indirect maternal death
  • Maternal death
  • Maternal death
  • Primigravida
  • Prolonged second stage of labor
  • Prolonged second stage with antenatal problem
  • Second degree perineal laceration
  • Second degree perineal tear during delivery with postnatal problem
  • Sequela of complication of pregnancy childbirth and the puerperium

Clinical Classification

Clinical Classifications group individual ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes into broader, clinically meaningful categories. These categories help simplify complex data by organizing related conditions under common clinical themes.

They are especially useful for data analysis, reporting, and clinical decision-making. Even when diagnosis codes differ, similar conditions can be grouped together based on their clinical relevance. Each category is assigned a unique CCSR code that represents a specific clinical concept, often tied to a body system or medical specialty.

Other specified complications in pregnancy

CCSR Code: PRG028

Inpatient Default: X - Not applicable.

Outpatient Default: Y - Yes, default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.

Clinical Information

  • Maternal Death

    the death of the female parent.
  • Second Degree Perineal Laceration

    injury to perineum involving perineal muscles but not involving anal sphincter. (revitalize)
  • Indirect Maternal Death

    death resulting from previously existing disease or a disease developing during pregnancy which was not associated with gestation, but which was aggravated by the unique physiologic changes of pregnancy. examples of indirect deaths include those associated with epilepsy, diabetes, cardiac disease and hormone-dependent malignancies.

Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries

The following annotation back-references are applicable to this diagnosis code. The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10-CM codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with coding notes and guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more.


Code First

Code First
Certain conditions have both an underlying etiology and multiple body system manifestations due to the underlying etiology. For such conditions, the ICD-10-CM has a coding convention that requires the underlying condition be sequenced first followed by the manifestation. Wherever such a combination exists, there is a "use additional code" note at the etiology code, and a "code first" note at the manifestation code. These instructional notes indicate the proper sequencing order of the codes, etiology followed by manifestation.
  • condition resulting from (sequela) of complication of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium

  • This category is to be used to indicate conditions in O00 O77 O85 O98 O9A

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).

Code Edits

The Medicare Code Editor (MCE) detects errors and inconsistencies in ICD-10-CM diagnosis coding that can affect Medicare claim validity. These Medicare code edits help medical coders and billing professionals determine when a diagnosis code is not appropriate as a principal diagnosis, does not meet coverage criteria. Use this list to verify whether a code is valid for Medicare billing and to avoid claim rejections or denials due to diagnosis coding issues.

Maternity diagnoses

The Medicare Code Editor detects inconsistencies in maternity cases by checking a patient's age and any diagnosis on the patient's record. The maternity code edits apply to patients age ange is 9–64 years inclusive (e.g., diabetes in pregnancy, antepartum pulmonary complication).

Unacceptable principal diagnosis

There are selected codes that describe a circumstance which influences an individual's health status but not a current illness or injury, or codes that are not specific manifestations but may be due to an underlying cause. These codes are considered unacceptable as a principal diagnosis.

Present on Admission (POA)

O94 is exempt from POA reporting - The Present on Admission (POA) indicator is used for diagnosis codes included in claims involving inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals. POA indicators must be reported to CMS on each claim to facilitate the grouping of diagnoses codes into the proper Diagnostic Related Groups (DRG). CMS publishes a listing of specific diagnosis codes that are exempt from the POA reporting requirement. Review other POA exempt codes here.

CMS POA Indicator Options and Definitions

POA Indicator: Y

Reason: Diagnosis was present at time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? YES

POA Indicator: N

Reason: Diagnosis was not present at time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? NO

POA Indicator: U

Reason: Documentation insufficient to determine if the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? NO

POA Indicator: W

Reason: Clinically undetermined - unable to clinically determine whether the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? YES

POA Indicator: 1

Reason: Unreported/Not used - Exempt from POA reporting.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? NO

Convert O94 to ICD-9-CM

Below are the ICD-9 codes that most closely match this ICD-10 code, based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs). This ICD-10 to ICD-9 crosswalk tool is helpful for coders who need to reference legacy diagnosis codes for audits, historical claims, or approximate code comparisons.

Late effct cmplcatn preg

ICD-9-CM: 677

This is a direct match with no additional mapping qualifiers. The absence of a flag generally means the mapping is considered exact or precise. In other words, the ICD-10 code maps cleanly to the ICD-9 code without qualification, approximation, or needing multiple codes.

Patient Education


Childbirth Problems

Childbirth is the process of giving birth to a baby. It includes labor and delivery. Usually everything goes well, but problems can happen. They may cause a risk to the mother, baby, or both. Some of the more common childbirth problems include:

  • Preterm (premature) labor, when your labor starts before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy
  • Premature rupture of membranes (PROM), when your water breaks too early. If labor does not start soon afterwards, this can raise the risk of infection.
  • Problems with the placenta, such as the placenta covering the cervix, separating from the uterus before birth, or being attached too firmly to the uterus
  • Labor that does not progress, meaning that labor is stalled. This can happen when
    • Your contractions weaken
    • Your cervix does not dilate (open) enough or is taking too long to dilate
    • The baby is not in the right position
    • The baby is too big or your pelvis is too small for the baby to move through the birth canal
  • Abnormal heart rate of the baby. Often, an abnormal heart rate is not a problem. But if the heart rate gets very fast or very slow, it can be a sign that your baby is not getting enough oxygen or that there are other problems.
  • Problems with the umbilical cord, such as the cord getting caught on the baby's arm, leg, or neck. It's also a problem if cord comes out before the baby does.
  • Problems with the position of the baby, such as breech, in which the baby is going to come out feet first
  • Shoulder dystocia, when the baby's head comes out, but the shoulder gets stuck
  • Perinatal asphyxia, which happens when the baby does not get enough oxygen in the uterus, during labor or delivery, or just after birth
  • Perineal tears, tearing of your vagina and the surrounding tissues
  • Excessive bleeding, which can happen when the delivery causes tears to the uterus or if you are not able to deliver the placenta after you give birth to the baby
  • Post-term pregnancy, when your pregnancy lasts more than 42 weeks

If you have problems in childbirth, your health care provider may need to give you medicines to induce or speed up labor, use tools to help guide the baby out of the birth canal, or deliver the baby by Cesarean section.

NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Health Problems in Pregnancy

Every pregnancy has some risk of problems, but there are certain conditions and health issues that can raise that risk, such as:

  • A health condition you had before you got pregnant
  • A health condition you develop during pregnancy
  • A pregnancy with more than one baby
  • A health problem that happened during a previous pregnancy and could happen again
  • Substance use during pregnancy
  • Being over age 35

Any of these can affect your health, the health of your baby, or both.

If you have a chronic condition, you should talk to your health care provider about how to minimize your risk before you get pregnant. Once you are pregnant, you may need a health care team to monitor your pregnancy. Some common conditions that can complicate a pregnancy include:

  • High blood pressure
  • Kidney problems
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Obesity
  • HIV
  • Cancer
  • Infections

Other conditions that may make pregnancy risky can develop during pregnancy - for example, gestational diabetes and Rh incompatibility. Good prenatal care can help detect and treat them.

Some symptoms, such as nausea, back pain, and fatigue, are common during pregnancy. Sometimes it is hard to know what is normal. Call your health care provider if something is bothering or worrying you.


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Postpartum Care

Taking home a new baby is one of the happiest times in a woman's life. But it also presents both physical and emotional challenges. :

  • Get as much rest as possible. You may find that all you can do is eat, sleep, and care for your baby. And that is perfectly okay. You will have spotting or bleeding, like a menstrual period, off and on for up to six weeks.
  • You might also have swelling in your legs and feet, feel constipated, have menstrual-like cramping. Even if you are not breastfeeding, you can have milk leaking from your nipples, and your breasts might feel full, tender, or uncomfortable.
  • Follow your doctor's instructions on how much activity, like climbing stairs or walking, you can do for the next few weeks.
  • Doctors usually recommend that you abstain from sexual intercourse for four to six weeks after birth.

In addition to physical changes, you may feel sad or have the "baby blues." If you are extremely sad or are unable to care for yourself or your baby, you might have a serious condition called postpartum depression.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.