Why Maternal Mortality Is So Hard to Measure–And Why the Problem May Get Worse

July 11, 2023

(STAT News) – A recent JAMA study lends fresh insight into the magnitude of the problem, showing that maternal mortality rates more than doubled in the U.S. during the two decades from 1999 to 2019. The study is noteworthy not just for its findings, but because it highlights a problem that continues to hamper research into maternal health: The inconsistent data collection of maternal death counts. Even as the analysis provides a reliable estimate of the trends over the past two decades, the study is limited to data obtained via birth and death certificates. But without a state-by-state review of individual deaths and their causes, the U.S. still lacks a comprehensive picture of the epidemic and its causes, rendering the country less effective in forming strategies to prevent maternal deaths. (Read More)