CDC Data Shows U.S. Maternal Death Rate Rose Sharply in 2021

The number of women who died of maternal causes in the U.S. rose to 1,205 in 2021, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics, released last week by the CDC. That’s a sharp increase from years earlier: 658 in 2018, 754 in 2019 and 861 in 2020. That means the US maternal death rate for 2021 – the year for which the most recent data is available – was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with rates of 20.1 in 2019 and 23.8 in 2020. The maternal death rate in the U.S. has been steadily climbing over the past three decades, and these increases continued through the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say women were at increased risk for morbidity and mortality from COVID because of being ventilated in the intensive care unit, preeclampsia and blood clots. Read more from CNN Health here.