News Report | June 1, 2023
U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Rose 40% Between 2020 & 2021
Maternal deaths in the U.S. rose 40% in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to data released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics. Nationwide, 1,205 women died of pregnancy-related complications in 2021, an increase from 861 in 2020. A maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization as “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental . . .