According to experts, the number of U.S. women who died within a year of giving birth more than doubled between 1999 and 2019, with Black women having the highest fatality rate. According to a report published in the medical journal JAMA, there were an estimated 1,210 maternal deaths in 2019, up from 505 in 1999. The study found that American Indian and Alaska Native women experienced the biggest increases over time.
According to their estimates, the number of deaths per 100,000 live births increased from 12.7 to 32.2 overall, from 14.0 to 49.2 among American Indians and Alaska Natives, 26.7 to 55.4 among Blacks, 9.6 to 20.9 among Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders, 9.6 to 19.1 among Hispanics, and 9.4 to 26.3 among whites. Unlike past maternal mortality studies in the United States, which focused on nationwide patterns, the current study examined data state by state. Surprisingly, Black women had the greatest maternal death rates in some Northeast states, according to the researchers.
“Often, states in the South are called out as having the worst maternal mortality rates in the nation, whereas California and Massachusetts have the best. But that doesn’t tell the whole story,” study leader Dr. Allison Bryant of Mass General Brigham in Boston said in a statement. “It’s essential to look at the disparities between populations that exist even in the ‘best’ states.”
Maternal mortality rates are highest in the South, particularly for Black women
Maternal mortality was highest in the South for all race and ethnicity groups, but especially for Black women, while the Midwest and Great Plains had the highest rates for American Indian and Alaskan Native women. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the most prevalent causes of death within one year of the end of pregnancy include mental health issues, heavy bleeding, heart and coronary conditions, infections, blood clots, and pregnancy-related high blood pressure.
“Our findings provide important insights on maternal mortality rates leading up to the pandemic, and it’s likely that we’ll see a continued increase in the risk of maternal mortality across all populations if we analyze data from subsequent years,” Bryant said.
“Black individuals would likely still have the highest rate, but there may be a higher uptick in some of the other groups in the last few years.”