Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains the most common cause of maternal death in the developed world. VTE includes two conditions, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT refers to a blood clot that has formed in a deep vein, often in the legs and/or pelvis and PE refers to the passage of these clots into the lungs (which can be fatal). VTE is up to 10 times more common in pregnant women than non-pregnant women of comparable age. More than a third of pregnancy related VTE occur during the 6 weeks after delivery. When compared with vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery further increases the risk of pregnancy associated VTE by three-fold.