US maternal deaths fell in 2024 and may have dropped again last year, government data shows

AP News – Wednesday, March 4, 2026
By Mike Stobbe

NEW YORK (AP) — Fewer U.S. women died around the time of childbirth in 2024, a government analysis shows, and provisional data suggests the trend may have continued last year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported that 649 mothers died in 2024 during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth. That is down from 669 deaths in 2023, and a continued drop from 2022 and 2021 — when it was the highest level in more than 50 years.

Click here to read the entire article.