Maternal mortality is on the rise in the US, according to the CDC.
Pregnancy and childbirth should herald new beginnings and a new life, but more and more pregnant or newly pregnant women are facing an untimely death.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday released a new 2021 maternal death rate report that showed an upward trend in the number of women dying from maternal causes in the US.
In 2021, the report showed that 1,205 women died of maternal causes – an increase of more than 33% compared to 2020 and 46% more than in 2019.
The report says that for every 100,000 live births in 2021, there were 32.9 maternal deaths, compared to 23.8 in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as “the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, regardless of the duration and location of the pregnancy, from any cause associated with or aggravated by the pregnancy.” his management, but not for accidental or accidental reasons.”
A growing proportion of pregnant or recently pregnant women experience premature death in the US. (iStock)
Maternal mortality rates varied by race, age
All racial groups saw significant increases in maternal mortality between 2020 and 2021, according to the report.
However, black women account for the largest proportion at 69.9 for every 100,000 births. This is more than 2.5 times more than white women.
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Mortality also increased with age. In 2021, there were 20.4 deaths per 100,000 live births among women under 25.
This increased to 31.3 deaths for women aged 25 to 39 and 138.5 for women aged 40 and over.
This means that maternal mortality increased by almost 150% between the youngest and oldest age groups.
Maternal mortality increased by almost 150% between the youngest and oldest age groups. (iStock)
Amy Anert, MD, co-director of the cardio-obstetrics program at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Pennsylvaniadid not participate in the study, but familiarized with its results.
“Unfortunately, this is not ‘new’ news,” she told Fox News Digital in an email.
“The United States is one of the very few countries in the world with rising maternal mortality.”
Dr. Anert said she thinks one reason is that women are postponing childbearing until later in life — and thus may have more chronic illnesses.
“In addition, there is an increase obesity and unhealthy lifestyleas well as an increase in high blood pressure and other risk factors,” she said.
Black women have a maternal mortality rate 2.5 times higher than white women.
heart disease According to the Mayo Clinic, it is the leading cause of maternal death in the United States.
Dr. Anert cited a 2020 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association that found less than one in 10 pregnant women had favorable cardiovascular health.
A pregnant woman is shown during an exam. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of maternal death in the US (iStock)
“We need to make changes to improve pre-pregnancy women’s cardiovascular health to reduce maternal mortality in our country,” she said.
To achieve this, Dr. Ahnert stressed the need to improve the education of the public and healthcare professionals in all disciplines, starting long before pregnancy.
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“We need to address the issue of access to healthy food, access to health care and issues hindering heart health,” the doctor said. Anert said.
The doctor identified the need for programs dedicated to the care of women at risk before, during and after pregnancy.
“This should include more attention to research and understanding of the barriers to improving the health of high-risk women.”
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Finally, the doctor identified the need for programs dedicated to the care of women at risk before, during and after pregnancy.
“This may include careful monitoring of symptoms, arterial pressure and other important clinical signs indicating a higher risk,” she said.
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The data for this report is from the National Vital Statistics System’s death file, which includes records of all reported deaths in the United States from 1900 to the present.
The report does not include all deaths of pregnant women, but only those that were associated with motherhood.