Identify and analyse publications dealing with the impact or consequences of a maternal death on the family. Method: systematic review of qualitative and quantitative research publications in indexed journals of biomedical databases in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Results: of the seven publications included, three use qualitative methodology, two quantitative and two qualitative ones from the European and American continents. The total number of articles reviewed involved 439 families of deceased women and two historical reconstructions were carried out on the basis of family records of two populations. The consequences of a maternal death are of such a magnitude that they have a long-lasting impact on both the family and the community itself. When analysing the findings, we found common problems such as: ageing, the survival of children, the reconstitution of households. Conclusions: although few jobs identify and quantify the family consequences of maternal death and their analysis is limited to some qualitative studies, they have a negative impact on family structure and dynamics, as well as an increase in infant mortality.