Deaths among pregnant women and new mothers have risen sharply during the pandemic

Deaths, occurring disproportionately among Native American and Black women, were linked not only to medical complications, but also to homicides and accidents.

Pregnant women and new mothers have died in sharply increasing numbers during the pandemic, and not just from an increase in medical complications that can accompany pregnancy and childbirth. Other causes, such as drug overdoses, homicides and car accidents, claimed even more victims, according to a study published Friday.

"C' is really heartbreaking to see,” said Jeffrey T. Howard, associate professor of public health at the University of Texas at San Antonio and lead author of the paper, which was published in JAMA Network Open.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" > "There is definitely a problem in our country for pregnant or postpartum women, who are vulnerable and under a lot of stress," he added. "We are failing these women as a society and failing their children."

Maternal health is widely considered a key indicator of a woman's overall well-being. company. Even before the pandemic hit, the United States was the most dangerous place in the industrialized world to have a baby, with the greatest risks concentrated in Black and Native American communities.

The new report highlighted the dangers facing Native American women, who are at the greatest risk during and after pregnancy. Native American women were 3.5 times more likely to die during this critical period than white women, according to the study.

They were three times more likely to die of a pregnancy complication, and nearly four times more likely to die from a non-pregnancy-related cause. Native American women were five times more likely than white women to die in car crashes during and after pregnancy, three times more likely to die from drug overdose or homicide, and four times more likely to commit suicide .

During and after pregnancy, black women also faced increased risks of death that were almost double those of white women, as well as a risk of dying specifically from complications of pregnancy that was 2.8 times greater than that of white women.

They were less likely to die of a drug overdose or commit suicide during and after pregnancy, compared to white women. But more than any other racial or ethnic group, black women have died as a result of homicide; they were five times more likely to be killed this way than white women.

Dr. Howard and his colleagues analyzed death certificates, which list the underlying cause of death and include a pregnancy checkbox. The certificates ask not only if the deceased was pregnant at the time of her death, but whether she had been pregnant within the previous six weeks or at any time during the previous year.

Scientists have identified 2,019 deaths in 2019 and 2,516 deaths in 2020 among women who were pregnant at the time of their death or who had been pregnant in the past year. In 2020, there was an increase in deaths related to pregnancy complications, as well as deaths from other causes.

Drugs, collisions motor vehicles, homicides and suicides were the most common. these; suicide was the only category that did not see an increase in 2020 compared to 2019.

Among the deaths recorded in 2020 for women who were pregnant or had already been pregnant, only 23 listed Covid-19 as the underlying cause of death (171 cited Covid as a contributing factor).

Dr. Howard said he expects the trends to worsen and conditions for pregnant women and new mothers to become even more difficult as more states restrict abortion access. and adopt policies that restrict access to birth control.

Maternal health is influenced by a range of social and economic factors, including disparities in access to care and the quality of that care. Yet experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the vast majority of maternal deaths - around 80% - are preventable. Native American, where the average life expectancy has dropped by six years and one...