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FACT BRIEF

Did the US maternal mortality rate double in the past two decades?

By Tom Kertscher
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NO

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest the U.S. maternal mortality rate has increased over the past two decades. However, it cautions that a change in how data was collected inflated the numbers.

On paper, the maternal mortality rate has at least doubled in the past two decades — a statistic often repeated in the media, including by Wisconsin state Rep. Robyn Vining, a proponent of maternity health care. Between 2000 and 2020, the recorded rate went from 9.8 per 100,000 births to 23.8 per 100,000.

But the CDC says these "observed increases" are "largely due to the staggered implementation" of a checkbox marking pregnancy status at the time of death, which "increased identification of maternal deaths." Accounting for it, predicted rates "did not change significantly from 1999 through 2017."

The maternal mortality rate did jump to 32.9 per 100,000 in 2021, the latest data year available.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control Table III. Observed and predicted maternal mortality rates: United States, 1999–2017 (Page 30)
Centers for Disease Control Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2021
WisPolitics Rep. Vining: Re-introduces the Pregnancy Protection Act
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.