Why It Matters
The nation remains above its target for reducing pregnancy-related deaths, with persistent and widening racial disparities that underscore a critical gap in health outcomes, according to Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, published June 18.
The maternal mortality rate (MMR) stood at 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, above the Healthy People 2030 target of 15.7, yet this masks stark disparities: non-Hispanic Black women faced an MMR of 50.3 in 2023, nearly 3.5 times higher than non-Hispanic White women at 14.5.
The Big Picture
Maternal mortality peaked in 2021 at 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, an 89 percent increase from the 2018 low of 17.4, with at least 1,205 maternal deaths recorded that year. Though the rate has declined since 2021, it has not returned below its 2018 baseline as of 2024, when 649 maternal deaths were recorded.
Age amplifies risk: MMRs are consistently highest among women aged 40 and above, peaking at 138.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021, and the pregnancy-related mortality rate for women aged 45 to 49 was more than eight times greater than for women aged 35 to 39 in 2024.
The U.S. relies on two data systems to assess national trends in deaths during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period: the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) and the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS). A significant measurement challenge looms: the United States currently reports its MMR using International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10) standards, while the World Health Organization's ICD-11 came into effect in 2022 and all other WHO member states are expected to report using it, but all ICD-11 implementation activities in the U.S. have been suspended due to the country's withdrawal from WHO.
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