Maternal mortality in the United States

rdf:langString Maternal mortality in the United States

rdf:langString July 2017

rdf:langString It seems contradictory to say that the rate has been rising since 1996 but that the rate peaked eight years ago.

rdf:langString Maternal mortality refers to the death of a woman during her pregnancy or up to a year after her pregnancy has terminated; this metric only includes causes related to the pregnancy, and does not include accidental causes. Some sources will define maternal mortality as the death of a woman up to 42 days after the pregnancy has ended, instead of one year. In 1986, the CDC began tracking pregnancy related deaths to gather information and determine what was causing these deaths by creating the Pregnancy-Related Mortality Surveillance System. Although the United States was spending more on healthcare than any other country in the world, more than two women died during childbirth every day, making maternal mortality in the United States the highest when compared to 49 other countries in the developed world. The CDC reported an increase in the maternal mortality ratio in the United States from 18.8 deaths per 100,000 births to 23.8 deaths per 100,000 births between 2000 and 2014, a 26.6% increase. As of 2018, the US had an estimated 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births. According to the CDC a study that included data from 36 states found that more than 80% of pregnancy related deaths were preventable between 2017-2019.