Maternal mortality rate in the US rose drastically in 2021

The US saw a 40 percent increase in the maternal death rate from 2020 to 2021, according to a report of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This sharp increase builds on a trend of steadily increasing maternal deaths over the past few years in the US.

The report is based on data from the National Vital Statistics System, which tracks births and deaths across the US. Maternal mortality is defined by the World Health Organization as “the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days after termination of pregnancy”, but does not include deaths unrelated to pregnancy or related complications this.

According to Commonwealth Fund researchthe US has the highest maternal death rate of any rich country by a significant margin, with more than three times as many deaths as the runner-up, France.

In the US, the number of maternal deaths increased from 861 in 2020 to 1205 in 2021. The CDC also reported a disproportionate increase in maternal mortality rates for Black women compared to white women, which with about 70 deaths per 100,000 live births, up from 55 deaths in 2020. That’s more than twice the rate for white women in 2021, with about 27 deaths in per 100,000 live births.

Experts believe the rise of the covid-19 pandemic, which has worsened inequalities that already exist in health care. “In terms of maternal mortality, this continues to underscore the structural and systemic problems we’ve seen during the covid-19 pandemic,” Chasity Jennings-Nuñez at Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in California said in an interview. to CNN. “Until we start addressing those issues, even without a pandemic, we’re going to continue to see the numbers go in the wrong direction.”

The report also found a significant increase in older women dying from complications related to birth and pregnancy. There are about 20 deaths per 100,000 live births for women under 25, compared to 139 for those aged 40 and over. Maternal mortality rates among those 40 and older increased by 28 percent from 2020.