NC's maternal mortality rate is still climbing since pandemic's start
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Maternal mortality rates nationally have worsened as the pandemic has dragged on, and North Carolina is no exception.
Driving the news: In fact, according to newly released data, North Carolina mothers are dying at a higher rate than the U.S. average, with pregnancy-related deaths disproportionately impacting women of color.
Why it matters: COVID worsened maternal health for new mothers throughout the U.S., and that decline is still continuing, Muckrock and Columbia University's Brown Institute for Media Innovation found.
- And the spike in deaths is especially concerning considering more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
By the numbers: More than 50 North Carolina mothers died while pregnant or within 42 days of giving birth in 2021, at a rate of 44 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, according to Muckrock.
- Nationally, the rate was 32.9, with more than 1,200 women dying.
The big picture: The increase in deaths since the pandemic is likely in part driven by COVID-19 infections, along with pandemic delaying care non-COVID patients, Axios' Arielle Dreher has reported.
Between the lines: The newly released national data also reveals stark racial disparities in the maternal death rate, Axios' Erin Doherty writes.
- In 2021, the maternal mortality rate for Black women was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to a rate of 26.6 per 100,000 for white women.
- In North Carolina, where 22% of the population is Black, Black women made up for some 43% of pregnancy related deaths between 2020 and last year, Muckrock found in its analysis, which includes some preliminary 2022 data.
Zoom out: The U.S. has among the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, but declines in that rate have stalled globally in recent years, according to a report released last month by the World Health Organization.