Maternal mortality rate rises in black women, study says 0:54
(CNN) --
A new federal report shows there has been a slight increase in the number of women dying due to pregnancy or childbirth each year in the United States, and the maternal mortality rate among black women remains three times higher. than that of white women.
The total number of identified women who died of maternal causes in the United States increased from 658 in 2018 to 754 in 2019 and 861 in 2020, according to the new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. the United States Disease Prevention (NCHS and CDC, respectively, for its acronym in English).
The report also shows that the country's maternal mortality rate has increased from around 17 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018 to 20 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019 and almost 24 per 100,000 in 2020.
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"The rates for non-Hispanic black women were significantly higher than the rates for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women," Donna Hoyert, of the CDC's Division of Vital Statistics, wrote in the new report.
"The increases from 2019 to 2020 for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women were significant. The observed increase from 2019 to 2020 for non-Hispanic white women was not significant."
The report finds that in 2020, the maternal mortality rate for black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for white women.
The maternal mortality rate for black women is 2.9 times that of non-Hispanic white women.
The report also finds that maternal mortality rates increased with age, rising in 2020 from nearly 14 deaths per 100,000 live births among women under 25 to nearly 23 deaths per 100,000 for those between 25 and 39. years and nearly 108 deaths per 100,000 for those aged 40 and over.
The data shows that the rate for women aged 40 and over was 7.8 times higher than that for women under 25.
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The new report is based on national mortality data from the CDC's National Vital Statistics System, and maternal death was defined as the death of a woman during or within 42 days of pregnancy.
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A continuing trend
The rise in the maternal mortality rate identified in the new report is not new.
The pregnancy-related death rate in the United States has risen steadily over the last three decades.
The new report suggests that the rise in maternal mortality continued during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, but an NCHS spokesperson wrote in an email to CNN that researchers need to conduct more studies to determine exactly how the pandemic might be related to maternal health.
"The contribution of COVID-19 to the increase in maternal deaths has not yet been fully examined by NCHS, however, an initial review of cause of death among maternal deaths indicates it may be difficult to discern the role that COVID-19 played in a maternal death," the NCHS spokesperson told CNN.
Health professionals and advocacy groups have sounded the alarm that the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected communities of color and strained the resources of the nation's health care system, may further increase barriers to care of pregnant people.
Increased attention to health care disparities has prompted federal lawmakers to act.
Last year, Rep. Lauren Underwood, Rep. Alma Adams, Sen. Cory Booker, and members of the Black Maternal Health caucus introduced the Black Maternity "Momnibus" Act, a sweeping, bipartisan package of bills that has intended to provide pre- and post-natal support to black mothers, but most of the bills in the package are still making their way through Congress.
Meanwhile, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country, according to the Commonwealth Fund and the latest data from the World Health Organization.
While maternal mortality rates are unchanged or rising in the United States, they are declining in most countries.
CNN's Priya Krishnakumar contributed to this report.
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