Maternal Mortality

Related Pages
NCHS released maternal mortality statistics for 2018, an extensive review of data quality, and new coding procedures for death certificates based on this review.

Key Findings
  • For 2018, the maternal mortality rate is 17.4 per 100,000 live births in the United States.

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  • Wide racial and ethnic gaps exist between non-Hispanic black (37.1 deaths per 100,000 live births), non-Hispanic white (14.7), and Hispanic (11.8) women.

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  • New coding procedures—including how to use a checkbox that helps identify deaths related to pregnancy—improve the accuracy of maternal mortality estimates.

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Detailed Evaluation of Changes in Data Collection Methods
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Data Files and Resources
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Implementation of New Coding Methods
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Maternal Mortality Reports
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Contact NCHS
CDC info
Page last reviewed: November 20, 2019
Content source: National Center for Health Statistics