Key Takeaways from the Latest CDC Data on Pregnancy-Related Deaths
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Releases New Data on Pregnancy-Related Deaths
Analyzing data from 2022, the CDC continues to shed light on when and how women are dying during and following pregnancy. In particular, deaths due to mental health conditions have risen significantly from 22.7% in 2021 to 27.7% in 2022.
A pregnancy-related death is defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within one year of the end of pregnancy from a pregnancy complication, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy, or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiological effects of pregnancy. It differs from strict maternal death by allowing for a longer timeframe and including broader causes.
The Key Takeaways
#1: Mental health conditions continue to be the overall leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, with 216 deaths due to mental health conditions.
Data from 2022 shows that mental health conditions accounted for 27.7% of pregnancy-related deaths. This represents a significant increase from previous years' data which showed that mental health conditions accounted for 22.5% to 22.7% of pregnancy-related deaths.
#2: More deaths are occurring late in the postpartum year (43-365 days postpartum).
Data from 2022 shows that 37.8% of pregnancy-related deaths occur late in the postpartum year. This is a significant increase from previous years’ data which showed that 27-30% of pregnancy-related deaths occurred late in the postpartum year.
#3: More non-Hispanic Black women are dying due to mental health conditions.
Data from 2022 shows that 16.9% of pregnancy-related deaths to non-Hispanic Black women were due to mental health conditions. This is a significant increase from previous years’ data which showed that 7-9% of deaths to non-Hispanic Black women were due to mental health conditions.
Of note, the leading cause of pregnancy-related death for non-Hispanic Black women continues to be cardiovascular conditions, accounting for 20.0% of pregnancy-related deaths.
#4: The vast majority of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
Data from 2022 shows that 85.7% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. This is consistent with data from previous years.
Key Facts: Mental Health Conditions
Pregnancy-related deaths due to mental health conditions include deaths due to suicide, unintentional or unknown intent overdose/poisoning related to substance use disorder, and other deaths determined by Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) to be related to a mental health condition or substance use disorder.
Among pregnancy-related deaths with mental health conditions as the underlying cause:
45.4% were determined to be suicide.
51.4% were determined to be unintentional or unknown intent poisoning/overdose.
The Maternal Mortality Review Information Application (MMRIA) system gathers information about "circumstances surrounding a pregnancy-related death" that are documented by MMRCs using standard checkboxes. These circumstances are defined as whether they contributed to the death, and not just whether the circumstance was present.
Mental health conditions contributed to 26.3% of deaths. For example, a mental health condition impacted a woman’s ability to manage her type 2 diabetes.
Substance use disorder contributed to 25% of deaths. For example, acute methamphetamine intoxication made preeclampsia worse, or the woman was more vulnerable to infections or medical conditions.
About the Data
The CDC has been gathering data about pregnancy-related deaths since 2017 through the Maternal Mortality Review Information Application (MMRIA, pronounced "Maria"). MMRIA gathers data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees, which share data with the CDC for aggregate analysis.
The first CDC reports about pregnancy-related deaths included data from 36 states from 2017-2019. Since then, the CDC has since reported annually:
2020 data was from 38 state MMRCs
2021 data was from 46 state MMRCs
2022 data was from 45 state MMRCs
About Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs)
Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) are state-based multidisciplinary committees that review the deaths of all women that occurred during pregnancy or within one year of the end of pregnancy.
MMRCs have access to a wide range of clinical and non-clinical information (e.g., vital records, medical records, social services records, interviews with providers and family members) to more fully understand the circumstances surrounding each death, determine whether the death was pregnancy-related, and develop recommendations for action to prevent similar deaths in the future.
MMRCs provide the most robust information about maternal mortality for two reasons: (1) they have access to the widest range of data available and (2) they look at the longest time period (during and one year following pregnancy).
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