Maternal Mortality in the

United States, 1935-2007:

Substantial Racial/Ethnic, Socioeconomic, and Geographic Disparities Persist

Gopal K. Singh, PhD

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Figure 1: Maternal Mortality by Race, United States, Figure 2: Maternal Mortality Rate by Race/Ethnicity,
1935–2007 United States, 2005-2007

Trends in Maternal Mortality by Race

Maternal mortality in the United States has declined Maternal deaths are those related to or aggravated by
dramatically over the past century (1-4). The rate declined pregnancy or pregnancy management and which occur
from 607.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1915 during or within 42 days after the end of pregnancy (3).
to 12.7 in 2007 (1-3). However, maternal mortality in the Although mortality trend data extend farther back in time
United States has changed very little in the past 25 years for the entire United States and the birth registration area
(1, 3). Achieving further reductions in the maternal mortality (1, 2), we chose 1935 as the start of the time trend analysis
rate is an important public health priority for the nation as since it coincided with the inception of Title V of the Social
the rates for certain ethnic minority and socioeconomic Security Act, a national public health legislation aimed at
groups remain relatively high (3, 4, 5). A cross-national promoting and improving the health and welfare services
comparison of the 2005 statistics by the World Health for all mothers and children. The maternal mortality rates in
Organization (WHO) reveals that the U.S. rate of 15 mater- the United States showed a consistently downward trend
nal deaths per 100,000 live births exceeded the rates for at between 1935 and 1982, decreasing at a rapid rate of 8.6%
least 41 other countries, including Canada, Australia, Japan, per year (Figure 1). During 1935-1982, the rate of decline
and all the Western and Northern European countries (6). in maternal mortality was significantly faster among white
In this brief report, we analyze long-term trends in women than among black women. The risk of maternal
maternal mortality according to race/ethnicity, socioeco- mortality remained 3 to 4 times higher among black women
nomic position (family poverty level), and state and region than white women during the past 6 decades (Figure 1).
of residence by using both historical and the latest national The trend in maternal mortality from 1982 through 1998 was
vital statistics data (2, 3). As shown below, despite the fairly stable barring yearly fluctuations, but since 1999, there
massive drop in maternal mortality over the long term, appears to be an upturn in maternal mortality among both
substantial racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic white and black women, which has partly been attributed to
disparities remain, with many of the sociodemographic changes in the coding and classification of maternal deaths
groups currently far from achieving the national goal for the resulting from the implementation in 1999 of the Interna-
year 2010 (7). tional Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) in
the United States.
Figure 3: Maternal Mortality Rate by County-Level Family 100,000 live births was highest among non-Hispanic black
Poverty Rate, United States, 1969-2007 women (34.0), followed by American Indians/Alaska Natives
(16.9), Asian/Pacific Islanders (11.0), non-Hispanic whites
(10.4), and Hispanics (9.6) [Figure 2].

Trends in Socioeconomic Disparities in Maternal

Mortality
Since reliable socioeconomic data are lacking on death
certificates, which are the basis for the national mortality
statistics, county-level family poverty data from the 1990
and 2000 censuses were linked with county-level mortality
data to compute maternal mortality rates from 1969 to 2007
in three poverty rate categories: <5% (i.e., less than 5% of
families below the poverty level in a county, referred to as
the low poverty group), 5-14.99% (middle poverty group),
and 15% or higher (high poverty group) [3, 8, 9]. Details
of the linkage methodology are provided elsewhere (10).
During 1969-2002, the maternal mortality rate for women in
the low poverty group declined by 41%, whereas the rate
for women in the middle and high poverty groups decreased
by 50.5% and 53.9%, respectively (Figure 3). The faster
Figure 4: Relative Risk of Maternal Mortality by County-Level
Family Poverty Rate, United States, 1969-2007 decline in maternal mortality among higher poverty groups
contributed to the narrowing of the socioeconomic differen-
tials in maternal mortality. Note that the maternal mortality
rate increased significantly between 1999-2002 and 2003-
2007 for women in all socioeconomic groups. All relative
risks of mortality for the poverty groups were statistically
significant. Compared to women in the low poverty group,
women in the middle poverty and high poverty groups had
90% and 220% higher maternal mortality risks in 1969-1971
and 58% and 102% higher maternal mortality risks in
2003-2007, respectively (Figure 4). Higher poverty rates
were associated with higher maternal mortality risks among
both white and black women in each time period (data not
shown). For example, in 2003-2007, black women in the
high poverty group had a 35% higher maternal mortality
rate than black women in the low poverty group. For white
women, the corresponding relative risk of mortality was 50%
higher in the high poverty group compared to the low pov-
erty group. Moreover, within each poverty group, significant
racial disparities in maternal mortality existed, with black
In 2007, the maternal mortality rate for black women was women experiencing an approximately three times higher
26.5 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.7 times higher than maternal mortality risk than white women in each poverty
the rate for white women (10.0). According to the 2005-2007 group (data not shown).
detailed racial/ethnic data, the maternal mortality rate per
Figure 5: Maternal Mortality Rate per 100,000 Live Births, 2003-2007
Figure 6: Maternal Mortality Rate by Geographic Region, United States, 2003-2007

Geographic Disparities in Maternal Mortality England, the risk of maternal mortality was 3.1 times higher
During 2003-2007, the maternal mortality rate varied among women in the Mid-Atlantic region, 2.6 times higher
considerably by state of residence, ranging from a low of 4.3 in the South Atlantic region, 2.4 times higher in the West
deaths per 100,000 live births for Indiana to a high of 41.6 South Central region, and 2.0 times higher in the Pacific
for the District of Columbia and 26.0 for Michigan (compari- region. Excess maternal mortality risks in the Mid-Atlantic,
son based on only those states where a total of at least 16 Southern, and Pacific regions existed among both white and
maternal deaths occurred during 2003-2007) [Figure 5]. black women (data not shown).
The states with at least 50% (and statistically significantly) In a state-level ecological analysis, higher levels of
higher maternal mortality rates than the national average poverty rates, percentage of immigrant population, and
include the District of Columbia, Michigan, Oklahoma, cesarean rates were independently associated with higher
Idaho, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, and Mississippi. maternal mortality rates. Specifically, states, in which pov-
Maine, Alaska, North Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, erty rates exceeded 18%, immigrant population exceeded
Illinois, Minnesota, and Rhode Island had at least 50% (and 15%, and cesarean rates exceeded 33%, had 77%, 33%,
statistically significantly) lower maternal mortality rates than and 21% higher risks of maternal mortality, respectively,
the national average (Figure 5). Women in all regions had than states with lower rates of poverty, immigration, and
significantly higher risks of maternal mortality than women cesarean deliveries (data not shown).
in New England (Figure 6). Compared to women in New
Discussion (3, 4). In pregnancies with abortive outcomes, ectopic preg-
Reducing the overall maternal mortality rate as well as nancy is the leading cause of maternal death (3, 4). While
the associated racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparity maternal mortality from hemorrhage, pregnancy-induced
is an important health objective for the nation (7). The hypertension, and embolism has declined during the past
long-term trend from 1935 to 1982 indicates a dramatic two decades, maternal deaths due to other medical condi-
decline in the U.S. maternal mortality rate. However, the tions, including cardiovascular and neurological problems,
recent trend appears to indicate a substantial increase in appear to have increased (4). The rising trend in cesarean
maternal mortality rates, some of which could be attributed rates may have also contributed to the apparent increase
to recent coding and classification changes (1, 3). With the in maternal mortality during the past decade. The cesarean
implementation of ICD-10 effective with mortality statistics delivery rate in the United States has risen by more than
in 1999 and thereafter, additional deaths due to indirect 50% during the past decade, from 20.7% in 1996 to 31.8%
maternal causes of death have begun to be included in the in 2007 (11). Complications of cesarean sections have been
official mortality statistics, which would not have otherwise associated with increased maternal mortality, and a recent
been classified as maternal deaths in the previous ICD revi- study indicates 8 to 10 times higher maternal mortality risks
sions (1, 3). In addition, a number of states have, in recent for cesarean delivery compared with vaginal birth (12). Our
years, started using a pregnancy checkbox item on death ecological analysis showing increased maternal mortality
certificates, which has led to an increase in the identification rates for states with higher cesarean rates is consistent with
of maternal deaths (1, 3). As of 2007, there were 34 states this finding.
and the District of Columbia with a separate item on the Despite the dramatic reductions in overall maternal
death certificate indicating pregnancy status of the decedent mortality between 1935 and 2007, black women, women in
(3). lower socioeconomic groups, and women in several states
It is important to note that the maternal mortality statistics continue to experience substantially increased risks of
analyzed in this report are those compiled by the National maternal mortality. These marked social disparities pose an
Center for Health Statistics in accordance with the WHO important challenge for the U.S. health care system, as they
regulations and, therefore, exclude late maternal deaths may indicate important inequities in access to high-quality
occurring more than 42 days after the end of the pregnancy obstetric care. Currently, the maternal mortality rates for
and deaths of pregnant women from external causes such most states as well as for all racial/ethnic groups fall short
as unintentional injuries, homicides, and suicides (1, 3). of the Healthy People 2010 goal – which is set at 4.3 deaths
In 2007, for example, 548 deaths were reported to have per 100,000 live births (7). While none of the major racial/
occurred due to maternal causes during or within 42 days ethnic groups in 2007 met the 2010 target, the 2005-2007
of pregnancy termination and 221 deaths were classified as maternal mortality rates for American Indian/Alaska Native
late maternal deaths from direct or indirect causes occurring women and non-Hispanic black women were 4 and 8 times
more than 42 days but less than a year after termination of higher than the 2010 target, respectively. During 2003-2007,
pregnancy (3). women in all states except Indiana, North Dakota, Alaska,
and Maine had higher maternal mortality rates than the
The leading causes of maternal deaths in the United Healthy People 2010 target. In fact, during this time period,
States are hemorrhage, pregnancy-induced hypertension, there were 10 states with a rate of 20 or more maternal
embolism, infection, and other chronic medical conditions deaths per 100,000 live births.
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Copyright Information:
All materials appearing in this report are in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as
to source, however, is appreciated.

Suggested Citation:
Singh GK. Maternal Mortality in the United States, 1935-2007: Substantial Racial/Ethnic, Socioeconomic, and Geographic
Disparities Persist. A 75th Anniversary Publication. Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health
Bureau. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
This publication is available online at http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/

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