(March 24, 2023) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics recently released 2021 U.S. maternal mortality data showing increases in rates of maternal mortality and persisting disparities. These data are from the National Vital Statistics System and provide the most recent look at maternal deaths, defined by the World Health Organization as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes." The report updates a previous report showing maternal mortality rates for 2018–2020 (2).
In 2021, 1,205 women died of maternal causes in the U.S. compared with 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019. The maternal mortality rate for 2021 was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with a rate of 23.8 in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019. In 2021, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.6 times the rate for non-Hispanic White women. Rates for Black women were significantly higher than rates for White and Hispanic women. The increases from 2020 to 2021 for all races and Hispanic-origin groups were significant. This report is a sober reminder of the vitally important work needed to reduce disparities in care, and further emphasizes the critically important work of the Kansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative in improving maternal outcomes, including the Fourth Trimester Initiative.
--Karen Braman