Around 700 American women die annually from pregnancy-related causes, and a Sept. 6 report from the CDC reveals there are racial disparities in maternal mortality rates.
Researchers analyzed data from the CDC's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System for 2007-2016. They found that, for every 100,000 births, black women had 40.8 deaths and Native American women had 29.7 deaths. These numbers were 3.2 and 2.3 times the rate of pregnancy-related deaths for white women (12.7).
The disparities persisted even in states with low overall maternal mortality rates and among groups with more education.