Insights into the U.S. Maternal Mortality Crisis: An International Comparison

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/jun/insights-us-maternal-mortality-crisis-international-comparison?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--tQ3CNwKplnFYfZhduFfpPyB8iF8Pqf3CBgn-jPJcUO5jO_Xp2QOlhUMT4XvdEKBzVLEwCjBNRsn4xkkiaFNxoV2Hh8w&_hsmi=309996679&utm_content=309996679&utm_source=hs_email Pregnancy and childbirth are more dangerous in the U.S. than any other high-income nation The U.S. still has the highest maternal death rate of any high-income nation, even after seeing a decline since the pandemic, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund published today. I planned to share just “One Big Number” from this report with you, but there are too many numbers that are too stark, so here are a few takeaways: The U.S. maternal mortality rate is 22 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is already triple what some other high-income countries see. But for Black women in the U.S., the rate is 49.5 per 100,000. Nearly two-thirds of these deaths occur after the baby is born, up to 42 days later. One in five deaths occur during pregnancy, most often caused by heart conditions like stroke. In most high-income countries, midwives greatly outnumber ob-gyns. Only in the U.S, Canada, and Korea do these physicians outnumber midwives. Overall, the U.S. and Canada have the lowest total supply of providers (midwives and ob-gyns), with 16 and 13 per thousand live births, respectively.