CDC: Decrease in Maternal Mortality Rates Seen in 2022

THURSDAY, May 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- In 2022, there was a decrease in maternal mortality rates, according to a report published in the May Health E-Stats, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Donna L. Hoyert, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, examined maternal mortality rates for 2022 using data from the National Vital Statistics System based on age group and race and Hispanic origin.

Hoyert found that 817 women died of maternal causes in the United States in 2022 compared with 1,205 in 2021, 861 in 2020, 754 in 2019, and 658 in 2018. There was a decrease in the maternal mortality rate, from 32.9 deaths per 100,000 livebirths in 2021 to 22.3 deaths in 2022. Maternal mortality rates decreased significantly for Black non-Hispanic, White non-Hispanic, and Hispanic women in 2022; for Asian non-Hispanic women, the decrease was not statistically significant. In 2022, the maternal mortality rate was 49.5 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women compared with 19.0, 16.9, and 13.2 for White, Hispanic, and Asian women, respectively.

From 2021 to 2022, there was a significant decrease in rates for each age group; the rates in 2022 were 14.4, 21.1, and 87.1 deaths per 100,000 live births for those aged younger than 25 years, ages 25 to 39 years, and age 40 years or older, respectively. Women aged 40 years and older had a sixfold higher mortality rate than women aged younger than 25 years.

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