US maternal deaths rise 14% in 2020, led by Black women: report

The United States reported 861 cases of maternal death in 2020, 14 per cent higher from 2019, according to a new report by the National Centre for Health Statistics under the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

One-third of the pregnant women and new mothers who died in 2020 were Black, though Black Americans make up just over 13 per cent of the population, said a report by the New York Times on Wednesday.

The mortality rate of Black women was nearly three times that of white women, according to the report.

Notably, the mortality rate of Hispanic women also significantly increased in 2020, it added.

"Our maternal morbidity and mortality is the highest in the developed world, and the trend is continuing despite our awareness of it, despite our maternal-mortality review committees, despite attention in the press," said the New York Times quoting Kara Zivin, a professor of psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Michigan.

Statistics show that the US maternal mortality rate saw steady increase from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020.

The maternal mortality rate in the United States is much higher than that in other developed countries like Norway or Canada.