New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a decrease in maternal mortality rates but a widening gap in racial disparities.
According to the report, which is based on data from the National Vital Statistics System in 2023, a total of 669 women died of maternal causes in the United States, compared to 817 deaths in 2022. The maternal mortality rate for 2023 dropped 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to a rate of 22.3 in 2022.
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Maternal mortality rates decreased in 2023 for most races. Rates for white women dropped significantly from 19.0 in 2022 to 12.4 in 2023. Similarly for Hispanic women, rates dropped from 16.9 in 2022 to 12.4 in 2023. Rates among Asian women dropped from 13.2 in 2022 to 10.7 in 2023.
But rates among Black women did not follow a similar trend─ rather, rates increased from 49.5 in 2022 to 50.3 in 2023.
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By age, rates continued to decrease, with significant drops among women ages 25-39 (dropping from 21.1 in 2022 to 18.1 in 2023) and age 40 and older (dropping from 87.1 in 2022 to 59.8 in 2023). For women younger than 25, rates dropped from 14.4 in 2022 to 12.5 in 2023.