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Summary Strong evidence now demonstrates that recognition and response systems using standardised early warning scores can help prevent harm associated with in‐hospital clinical deterioration in non‐pregnant adult patients. However, a standardised maternity‐specific early warning system has not yet been agreed in the UK. In Aotearoa New Zealand, following the nationwide implementation of the standardised New Zealand Early Warning Score (NZEWS) for adult inpatients, a modified maternity‐specific variation (NZMEWS) was piloted in a major tertiary hospital in Auckland, before national rollout. Following implementation in July 2018, we observed a significant and sustained reduction in severe maternal morbidity as measured by emergency response calls to women who were very unwell (emergency response team call), and a non‐significant reduction in cardiorespiratory arrest team calls. Emergency response team calls to maternity wards fell from a median of 0.8 per 100 births at baseline (January 2017–May 2018) to 0.6 per 100 births monthly (from March 2019 to December 2020) (p < 0.0001). Cardiorespiratory arrest team calls to maternity wards fell from 0.14 per 100 births per quarter (quarter 1 2017–quarter 2 2018) to 0.09 calls per 100 births per quarter after NZMEWS was introduced (quarter 3 2018–quarter 4 2020) (p = 0.2593). These early results provide evidence that NZMEWS can detect and prevent deterioration of pregnant women, although there are multiple factors that may have contributed to the reduction in emergency response calls noted.