CDC Vital Signs Examines Maternal Mortality

This month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vital Signs publication examined pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. According to the CDC, about 700 women die each year from complications of pregnancy, finding that about a third of deaths occurred during pregnancy, a third occurred at delivery or in the week after, and the remaining third occurred one week to one year postpartum.

Heart disease and stroke caused more than 1 in 3 deaths, and other significant factors were infections and severe bleeding. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women were found to be three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause as white women. The Vital Signs publication outlines strategies to improve maternal and pregnancy-related outcomes for health care providers, hospitals and health systems, and states and communities.

This month’s CDC Vital Signs is available here.