Iowa's maternal death rate rises as birthing units close

Details: Maternal mortality is defined as a death that takes place during birth or up to a year later.

• The study looked at pregnant individuals ages 10 to 54.
• Common causes of maternal death include mental health-related conditions and cardiac ailments.

Zoom in: The rate among Iowa's American Indian and Alaska Native populations rose from 26.5 to 139; from about 5.1 to 8.9 among Asian people, and 8.3 to 17.6 among white people, researchers found.

• The rates among Black people decreased slightly from 26 to about 24.3, but it had spiked to as high as 63.2 during some years of the study.

State of play: Labor and delivery units have shuttered in multiple rural counties across the state in recent years.

• Expectant mothers in those areas are less likely to access prenatal care, according to a study by the University of Iowa.

The big picture: Maternal mortality rates across the U.S. more than doubled between 1999 and 2019, with states in the Midwest, Great Plains and South accounting for significant increases.

• Overall, there were an estimated 1,210 total U.S. maternal deaths in 2019, up dramatically from 505 in 1999.

Driving the news: American Indian and Alaska Native populations had the biggest increases, particularly in states in the middle of the country where such inequities "had not been previously highlighted," researchers wrote.

• "Often, states in the South are called out as having the worst maternal mortality rates in the nation, whereas California and Massachusetts have the best," said Allison Bryant, co-first study author. "But that doesn't tell the whole story."

Go deeper: Maternal deaths widespread beyond the South