Pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. rise 28%

Pregnancy-related deaths in the United States skyrocketed 28% between 2018 and 2022. The Journal of the American Medical Association notes that American Indian and Alaska Native women had the highest death rates (106.3 per 100,000 live births), followed by non-Hispanic Black women. More than 42% of the 6,283 deaths could have been prevented. “Although cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of the overall pregnancy-related deaths, cancer, mental and behavior disorders, and drug-induced and alcohol-induced death were important contributing causes,” the report says. The U.S. has the highest rate of pregnancy-related death among high-income countries.