Between 2014 and 2021, the maternal mortality rate, the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, nearly doubled in the United States, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define maternal deaths as those occurring during or within 42 days of pregnancy from causes related to or exacerbated by pregnancy.
The way maternal deaths are categorized changed in 2017, but maternal mortality increased significantly even after the switch. In 2021, there were 32.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the U.S., compared to 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018. That fell to 22.3 in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.
In Arizona, the average maternal mortality rate between 2018 and 2022 was 30 deaths per 100,000 live births.
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