What: The United States’ maternal mortality rate is the worst in the world among wealthy countries. But a new analysis of CDC statistics makes the case that the rate is around 10 deaths per 100,000 births—not the nearly 33 deaths per 100,000 births reported around this time last year.
How is the estimate so off? In 2003, the CDC added a checkbox to death certificates to mark if the person was pregnant, and that ultimately meant deaths that were unrelated to pregnancy (i.e. a car accident) could get counted. When researchers only looked at causes of death from a pregnancy-related cause, the rate dropped to where other wealthy, developed nations are.
Important notes: 1) Even at a lower overall maternal mortality rate, racial disparities exist. Black women are still three times more likely to die than white patients. 2) The study did not count suicides, which can be related to perinatal depression (depression that develops during or after pregnancy).