The number of mothers dying in the US from pregnancy-related causes has more than doubled in the last two decades. This is according to a new study, published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study, which looked at state data between 2009-2019, found mortality rates remain “unacceptably high among all racial and ethnic groups across the US,” with the worst outcomes among Black women, Native Americans, and Alaska Native people.
“And [the death rate increase] is exacerbated in populations that have been historically underserved or for whom structural racism affects them greatly,” says study co-author Dr. Allison Bryant, an obstetrician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
New York and New Jersey in particular saw an increase in deaths among Black and Latina mothers.
The gradual rise in maternal mortality in America contrasts with other high-income countries; many have seen their lower rates decline even further over the time span of the study.
State review committees deem most maternal deaths preventable. Dr. Catherine Spong, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, says pregnancy-related deaths can be caused by many different risk factors, the biggest of which are conditions like cardiovascular disease, severe pre-eclampsia, maternal cardiac disease, and hemorrhage, she says.
The researchers all agree that doctors would have a better chance of dealing with these health conditions and others if more women had healthcare access after their babies were born.
