U.S. Maternal Death Rate Now Highest In The Western World, Thanks To GOP War On Women

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20. The CDC, among others

The reasons for the overall increase in pregnancy-related mortality are unclear. The use of computerized data linkages by the states, changes in the way causes of death are coded, and the addition of a pregnancy checkbox to the death certificate in many states have likely improved identification of pregnancy-related deaths over time. Whether the actual risk of a woman dying from pregnancy-related causes has increased is unclear. Many studies show that an increasing number of pregnant women in the United States have chronic health conditions such as hypertension,1 diabetes,2 and chronic heart disease.3 These conditions may put a pregnant woman at higher risk of pregnancy complications. Although the overall risk of dying from pregnancy complications is low, some women are at a higher risk than others. The higher pregnancy-related mortality ratios during 2009-2011 compared to 2006-2008 are due to an increase in infection and sepsis deaths. Variability in the risk of death by race, ethnicity, and age indicates that more can be done to understand and reduce pregnancy-related deaths.

http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pmss.html