Maternal deaths fell in U.S. in 2024, CDC report finds

Fewer U.S. women died around the time of childbirth in 2024, a government analysis shows, and provisional data suggests the trend may have continued last year (Source: “US maternal deaths fell in 2024 and may have dropped again last year, government data shows,” Associated Press, March 4).
 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that 649 mothers died in 2024 during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth. That is down from 669 deaths in 2023, and a continued drop from 2022 and 2021 — when it was the highest level in more than 50 years.
 
Available preliminary data suggests the trend continued in 2025, said Eugene Declercq, a Boston University researcher who studies federal data.
 
But he warned that there can be changes between the provisional and final numbers, with the tally either rising as late death records arrive or falling as some initial reports are removed upon review because they do not meet inclusion guidelines.