Maternal Mortality

Hospitals know how to protect mothers. They just aren’t doing it

The vast majority of women in America give birth without incident. But each year, more than 50,000 are severely injured. About 700 mothers die. The best estimates say that half of these deaths could be prevented and half the injuries reduced or eliminated with better care. Instead, the U.S. continues to watch other countries improve as it falls behind. Today, this is the most dangerous place in the developed world to give birth.

The U.S. could prevent more than half of its pregnancy-related deaths

A new report shows how much America continues to struggle to keep mothers healthy.

Reducing Maternal Mortality

Women in the United States face a far greater risk of dying from childbirth complications than in many other wealthy countries. Now the federal government has taken a step toward addressing the problem with the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act, signed in December, which will provide federal grants to states to investigate the deaths of women who die within a year of being pregnant.

Samantha Bee on the Maternal Mortality Rate: America Loves Babies, Just Not the Women Who Incubate Them

How is it that the U.S. is spending the most per capita on maternity care and getting the worst results? Because most of the spending and focus is going toward the babies. “We’re kinda meh about the nagging husks that incubate them,” said Bee.

The data on how many new mothers die in the US are in shambles

In the past few years, however, there has been growing awareness of the tragedy of maternal mortality, and “there is a lot of momentum on the quality of data collection,” says David Goodman, senior scientist for the CDC’s Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program.

We’re investigating how insurance gaps endanger mothers. This is why.

Women are getting kicked off Medicaid soon after giving birth or aren’t qualifying for care to begin with.

Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis

The answer to the disparity in death rates has everything to do with the lived experience of being a black woman in America.

America’s Shocking Maternal Deaths

One of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals was to reduce global maternal mortality by three-fourths between 1990 and 2015. The world missed that target but still reduced maternal mortality by 45 percent. Set against that progress, America’s record is unconscionable.

The Doctor Who Revolutionized Hospital-Birth Safety

In a field that has been dangerously slow to adopt standardized care practices, one influential obstetrician has pushed things forward with common sense.

What’s killing America’s new mothers?

While most of the world has drastically reduced maternal mortality in the past three decades, the US is one of just a handful of countries where the problem worsened, and significantly.

A Troubling Rise in Pregnancy-Related Heart Problems

The rates of heart-related problems in women before and after childbirth have increased in the U.S., a problem that some experts think may be contributing to the jump in the country’s maternal mortality rate.

American women are still dying at alarming rates while giving birth

Advocates across the U.S. are working to reduce the number of maternal deaths.

Black Women Are 3.5 Times More Likely to Die From Being Pregnant Than White Women

Although women dying during and after childbirth is a relatively rare occurrence among the 4 million births in the US each year, the numbers tell a dark story.

California decided it was tired of women bleeding to death in childbirth

The maternal mortality rate in the state is a third of the American average. Here's why.

Childbirth Still a Risky Undertaking in Many Countries

The U.N. has made improving maternal health a major goal for 2015, but progress has been slow despite good science on what makes motherhood safer.

Dying To Give Birth: 3 Reasons American Women Are Dying of Pregnancy Complications

Worldwide, 1 woman dies every 2 minutes from pregnancy-related complications. And for every woman who dies, approximately 20 others suffer serious injuries, infections or disabilities.

Focus On Infants During Childbirth Leaves U.S. Moms In Danger

The reasons for higher maternal mortality in the U.S. are manifold. New mothers are older than they used to be, with more complex medical histories. Half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, so many women don't address chronic health issues beforehand. Greater prevalence of C-sections leads to more life-threatening complications. The fragmented health system makes it harder for new mothers, especially those without good insurance, to get the care they need. Confusion about how to recognize worrisome symptoms and treat obstetric emergencies makes caregivers more prone to error.

Has Maternal Mortality Really Doubled in the U.S.?

Statistics have suggested a sharp increase in the number of American women dying as a complication of pregnancy since the late 1980s, but a closer look at the data hints that all is not as it seems.

It’s Not Just Texas. Maternal Deaths Are High Across The U.S.

While 99 percent of maternal deaths happen in developing countries, the U.S. shoulders a disproportionate burden for a developed nation.

Nurse Seeks End To Infant And Maternal Mortality

When Arlene Samen was invited to meet with the Dalai Lama, she couldn't imagine how it would change her life. Ultimately, she left her position as a nurse as the University of Utah School of Medicine to found One Heart World Wide, an organization that works to end infant and maternal mortality.

Our Abysmal Maternal Health Statistics And How To Improve Them

This past year, the United States received the dubious distinction of being one of only 7 countries in the world, including Somalia and Afghanistan, which have seen an increase in maternal mortality. While countries with far fewer resources such as India and Brazil have made great strides to decrease the number of women who die each year as a result of pregnancy, our nation has more than doubled its rate of maternal mortality in the last twenty-five years...

Progress on maternal mortality hindered by ‘funding mismatch’

There is little doubt that advances have been made in tackling women’s and children’s health in recent decades, a process that has been partly accelerated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since 2000.

Why Is U.S. Maternal Mortality So High?

The main reason is not medical errors. It’s poverty and access to health care.

The truth about maternal death

Women die in childbirth at alarming rates. Maternal death is an excellent example of what the famous economist and philosopher Amartya Sen calls a “remediable injustice” — a condition that is fundamentally unfair and within our capacity to change.

Review to Action

Review to Action is a resource developed by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) in partnership with the CDC Foundation and the CDC Division of Reproductive Health. Review to Action is a product of a larger initiative entitled, Building U.S. Capacity to Review and Prevent Maternal Deaths led by the CDC Foundation that also includes the Maternal Mortality Review Information Application, or MMRIA.

Save the Mothers

Save the Mothers promotes maternal health in the developing world through education, public awareness and advocacy. Based in Uganda and North America, Save The Mothers is part of a global movement to improve the health of mothers and babies.

Saving Mothers

Because no women should die giving life.

Every Mother Counts

Together, we can make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere.

The White Ribbon Alliance

White Ribbon Alliance unites citizens to demand the right to a safe birth for every woman, everywhere. Our mission is to inspire and convene advocates who campaign to uphold the right of all women to be safe and healthy before, during and after childbirth.

Women Deliver

Women Deliver believes that when the world invests in girls and women, everybody wins. As a leading global advocate for girls’ and women’s health, rights, and wellbeing, Women Deliver catalyzes action by bringing together diverse voices and interests to drive progress, with a particular focus on maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights.

Women Moving Millions

We are a community of women (and a few good men) who have committed a million (dollars)* or more to initiatives that advance the lives of women and girls.

National Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights

The group recognizes that there is an urgent need for women's organizations, health organizations, groups working on law and human rights, and mass-based organizations to come together on this issue. Strong rights-based strategies are needed to build greater accountability for these thousands of preventable deaths among women in India.