| Health Status > Infants
MATERNAL MORTALITY
During the past several decades, the rate of maternal
mortality in the United States has declined dramatically. However,
the rate in 2003 (12.1 per 100,000 live births) was significantly
different from the rate reported in 2002 (8.9 per 100,000). This
may partly be due to a change in how pregnancy is recorded on death
certificates.
Overall, there were 495 maternal deaths resulting
from complications during pregnancy, childbirth, or up to 42 days
postpartum in 2003. The maternal mortality rate among non-Hispanic
Black women (31.2 per 100,000 live births) is about four times the
rate among non-Hispanic White women (8.1 per 100,000 live births).
This disparity has widened since 2000.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the risk
of maternal death increases for women over age 30, regardless of
race. Women ages 35 to 39 years have over three times the risk of
maternal death as women ages 20 to 24 years.1
> Bar
Chart: Maternal Mortality Rates, by Race/Ethnicity: 2003
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