The number of American women who died within a year of pregnancy more than doubled between 1999 and 2019, with the highest deaths among black women, researchers said Monday.
There were an estimated 1,210 maternal deaths in 2019, compared with 505 in 1999, according to a study published in the medical journal JAMA.
The largest increases over time were seen among American Indian and Alaska Native women, the researchers said.
The number of deaths per 100,000 live births increased from 12.7 to 32.2 overall, from 14.0 to 49.2 among American Indians and Alaska Natives, from 26.7 to 55.4 among blacks , from 9.6 to 20.9 among Asians, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, from 9.6 to 19.1 among Hispanics and from 9.4 to 26.3 among whites, they estimated.
Unlike previous US studies on maternal mortality, which focused on national trends, the current study looked at state-by-state data.
To the researchers’ surprise, black women had the highest maternal mortality rates in some Northeastern states.
“Southern states are often said to have the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, while California and Massachusetts have the best. But that doesn’t tell the whole story,” study leader Dr. Allison Bryant, of Mass General Brigham in Boston, said in a statement. “It’s essential to look at the disparities between populations that exist even in the ‘best’ states.”
Southern states had high maternal mortality across all racial and ethnic groups, but especially among black people, while Midwestern and Great Plains states had the highest rates for American Indian and Alaska Native women.
The most common causes of death within a year after the end of pregnancy include mental health conditions, excessive bleeding, heart and coronary conditions, infections, blood clots, and pregnancy-related high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. US Disease Prevention
“Our findings provide important information about maternal mortality rates leading up to the pandemic, and it is likely that we will see a continued increase in maternal mortality risk in all populations if we look at data from subsequent years,” Bryant said.
“Black people probably still have the highest rate, but there may be a larger increase in some of the other groups in recent years.”
