US maternal mortality rates higher than other high income countries

THE U.S. IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE – AMONG HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES – TO GIVE BIRTH. MATERNAL DEATHS HAVE SPIKED TO THEIR HIGHEST IN NEARLY 60 YEARS. 

IN 2021, THE NUMBER OF WOMEN WHO DIED DURING PREGNANCY ROSE 40%. 

ACCORDING TO NEW DATA FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS, MORE THAN 12-HUNDRED WOMEN DIED. THAT’S 344 MORE MATERNAL DEATHS THAN THE YEAR BEFORE. 

THE INCREASE PUSHED THE MATERNAL-MORTALITY RATE TO 33 DEATHS PER 100,000 LIVE BIRTHS. THAT’S THE HIGHEST SINCE 1965.  

ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, IN 2020, THE RATES IN FRANCE, THE U.K., AND CANADA WERE 8, 10 AND 11 DEATHS PER LIVE BIRTHS RESPECTIVELY. 

BLACK MOTHERS WERE THE MOST AFFECTED. 30% OF MATERNAL DEATHS WERE AMONG BLACK WOMEN. 

NPR IS REPORTING THE U.S. MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE IS TEN TIMES MORE THAN THAT OF OTHER HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES – INCLUDING AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, JAPAN AND SPAIN. 

ACCORDING TO THE CDC, PULMONARY EMBOLISMS, UNCONTROLLED BLEEDING AND ISSUES FROM HYPERTENSION ARE THE LEADING CAUSES OF PREGNANCY-RELATED DEATHS IN THE U.S.