In the most recent data available, roughly 800 to 1,000 women die each year in the United States from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. The maternal mortality rate in 2023 stood at about 18 deaths per 100,000 live births for women ages 25 to 39, the age group where most births occur. That rate is more than double, sometimes triple, the rate in most other wealthy nations.
How the US Compares to Other Countries
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income country. In 2022, there were approximately 22 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. In half of the comparable nations analyzed by the Commonwealth Fund, fewer than five women died per 100,000 births. Countries like Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia consistently report rates a fraction of the American figure. This gap has persisted for decades and widened during the COVID-19 pandemic, though rates have declined somewhat since those pandemic peaks.
Age Makes a Dramatic Difference
The risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes rises steeply with age. In 2024, the CDC reported a rate of 13.7 deaths per 100,000 live births for women under 25, compared to 62.3 for women 40 and older. That means women over 40 face roughly five times the risk of the youngest mothers. Women between 25 and 39 fall in the middle at 16.5 per 100,000. These patterns have remained consistent year over year, with the over-40 group consistently carrying the highest burden.
Where You Live Matters
Maternal mortality varies widely by state. Between 2018 and 2022, Tennessee had the highest rate at 41.1 deaths per 100,000 live births, followed by Mississippi at 39.1 and Alabama at 38.6. At the other end, California reported just 10.5, with Minnesota at 12.3 and Wisconsin at 13.2. That means a woman giving birth in Tennessee faced roughly four times the risk of dying compared to a woman in California during the same period.
California’s low rate is often attributed to a coordinated statewide effort launched in the early 2010s that standardized hospital protocols for hemorrhage and high blood pressure emergencies, two of the most common killers during and after delivery.
Mental Health Is a Leading Factor
When people picture maternal death, they typically think of catastrophic bleeding during delivery. While hemorrhage and cardiovascular complications remain major causes, mental health conditions now account for nearly one in four maternal deaths. Suicide and opioid overdose together drive about 23% of all maternal fatalities, according to reviews by state Maternal Mortality Review Committees. Many of these deaths occur weeks or months after delivery, during the postpartum period, when support systems often fall away and mental health screening can be inconsistent.
More Than 80% Are Preventable
Perhaps the most striking number in all of this: the CDC estimates that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the US are preventable. That figure comes from detailed case-by-case reviews conducted by state-level committees that examine each maternal death. The reviews consistently identify delays in recognizing warning signs, gaps in communication between providers, and lack of access to appropriate care as contributing factors.
The preventability finding underscores that the US maternal mortality crisis is not primarily a problem of medical knowledge. Clinicians largely know how to treat hemorrhage, preeclampsia, and infection. The failures tend to be systemic: inconsistent hospital protocols, inadequate postpartum follow-up, insurance gaps that leave new mothers without coverage during the most vulnerable months after birth, and undertreated mental health conditions. For a country that spends more on healthcare per person than any other nation, the fact that roughly 800 women a year die from largely preventable causes represents one of the starkest failures in American medicine.