Why maternal mortality is so hard to measure — and why the problem may get worse
Every new data point or report appears to confirm it: The U.S. is in the midst of a mounting maternal mortality crisis. With more than 32 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, the risk of dying during pregnancy or in the year after childbirth is on average 10 times higher in the U.S. than it is in comparable wealthy and democratic nations, and more than 20 times higher for Black and Native people.
A recent JAMA study lends fresh insight into the magnitude of the problem, showing that maternal mortality rates more than doubled in the U.S. during the two decades from 1999 to 2019.
