In 2023, non-Hispanic Black women had the highest rates of maternal mortality among select races/ethnicities in the United States, with 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. The total maternal mortality rate in the U.S. at that time was 18.6 per 100,000 live births, a decrease from a rate of almost 33 in 2021. This statistic presents the maternal mortality rates in the United States from 2018 to 2023, by race and ethnicity.

This statistic depicts the infant mortality rates among U.S. black mothers from 2013 to 2015, by state. According to the data, among black mothers in West Virginia the infant mortality rate was 11.79 per 1,000 live births.

The leading causes of death among Black residents in the United States in 2022 included diseases of the heart, cancer, unintentional injuries, and stroke. The leading causes of death for African Americans generally reflects the leading causes of death for the entire United States population. However, a major exception is that death from assault or homicide is the seventh leading cause of death among African Americans, but is not among the ten leading causes for the general population. Homicide among African Americans The homicide rate among African Americans has been higher than that of other races and ethnicities for many years. In 2023, around 9,284 Black people were murdered in the United States, compared to 7,289 white people. A majority of these homicides are committed with firearms, which are easily accessible in the United States. In 2022, around 14,189 Black people died by firearms. However, suicide deaths account for over half of all deaths from firearms in the United States. Cancer disparities There are also major disparities in access to health care and the impact of various diseases. For example, the incidence rate of cancer among African American males is the greatest among all ethnicities and races. Furthermore, although the incidence rate of cancer is lower among African American women than it is among white women, cancer death rates are still higher among African American women.

This multi-scale map shows life expectancy - a widely-used measure of health and mortality. From the 2020 County Health Rankings page about Life Expectancy:"Life Expectancy is an AverageLife Expectancy measures the average number of years from birth a person can expect to live, according to the current mortality experience (age-specific death rates) of the population. Life Expectancy takes into account the number of deaths in a given time period and the average number of people at risk of dying during that period, allowing us to compare data across counties with different population sizes.Life Expectancy is Age-AdjustedAge is a non-modifiable risk factor, and as age increases, poor health outcomes are more likely. Life Expectancy is age-adjusted in order to fairly compare counties with differing age structures.What Deaths Count Toward Life Expectancy?Deaths are counted in the county where the individual lived. So, even if an individual dies in a car crash on the other side of the state, that death is attributed to his/her home county.Some Data are SuppressedA missing value is reported for counties with fewer than 5,000 population-years-at-risk in the time frame.Measure LimitationsLife Expectancy includes mortality of all age groups in a population instead of focusing just on premature deaths and thus can be dominated by deaths of the elderly.[1] This could draw attention to areas with higher mortality rates among the oldest segment of the population, where there may be little that can be done to change chronic health problems that have developed over many years. However, this captures the burden of chronic disease in a population better than premature death measures.[2]Furthermore, the calculation of life expectancy is complex and not easy to communicate. Methodologically, it can produce misleading results caused by hidden differences in age structure, is sensitive to infant and child mortality, and tends to be overestimated in small populations."Click on the map to see a breakdown by race/ethnicity in the pop-up: Full details about this measureThere are many factors that play into life expectancy: rates of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity, prevalence of tobacco use, prevalence of domestic violence, and many more.Data from County Health Rankings 2020 (in this layer and referenced below), available for nation, state, and county, and available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World

Note: Among ≥ 25 years of age. Area characteristics at the designated market area level from the American Community Survey, 2004–2009 for urbanicity (% living in a city with ≥ 50,000 people); % Black; education among Blacks (% with up to high school education); and poverty among Blacks (% households in poverty). Race-specific age and sex-adjusted mortality rates weighted using the US 2000 standard population per 100,000 person-years from death certificates and mid-year population counts collated by the National Center for Health Statistics, 2004–2009.Descriptive characteristics.

Note: MRR = Mortality Rate Ratio; CI = confidence interval; AIC = Akaike Information Criteria; RL = Relative Likelihood.Among ≥ 25 years of age. Race-specific age and sex-adjusted mortality rates weighted using the US 2000 standard population per 100,000 person-years from death certificates and mid-year population counts collated by the National Center for Health Statistics, 2004–2009. Area characteristics at the designated market area level from the American Community Survey, 2004–2009 for urbanicity (% living in a city with ≥ 50,000 people); % Black; education among Blacks (% with up to high school education); and poverty among Blacks (% households in poverty). All models adjusted for individual age, sex, year of death, and Census region.Nested negative binomial regression models estimating associations with Black all-cause mortality rates.

Note: MRR = Mortality Rate Ratio; CI = confidence interval.Among ≥ 25 years of age. Race-specific age and sex-adjusted mortality rates weighted using the US 2000 standard population per 100,000 person-years from death certificates and mid-year population counts collated by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), 2004–2009. All models adjusted for individual age, sex, year of death, and Census region; area characteristics at the designated market area (DMA) level (urbanicity, % Black, % high school education among Blacks, Black poverty rate) from the American Community Survey, 2004–2009; and corresponding DMA-level White cause-specific mortality rates per 100,000 person-years from NCHS.Negative binomial regression models estimating associations between area racism and Black cause-specific mortality rates.

Non-Hispanic Black women had the highest rate of infant mortality in the U.S. in 2023. In that year, there were almost ** infant deaths per 1,000 live births among Black women. Leading causes of infant mortality in the U.S. include congenital malformations, disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, maternal complications, and sudden infant death syndrome.

Death rate has been age-adjusted by the 2000 U.S. standard populaton. All-cause mortality is an important measure of community health. All-cause mortality is heavily driven by the social determinants of health, with significant inequities observed by race and ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Black residents have consistently experienced the highest all-cause mortality rate compared to other racial and ethnic groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Latino residents also experienced a sharp increase in their all-cause mortality rate compared to White residents, demonstrating a reversal in the previously observed mortality advantage, in which Latino individuals historically had higher life expectancy and lower mortality than White individuals despite having lower socioeconomic status on average. The disproportionately high all-cause mortality rates observed among Black and Latino residents, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, are due to differences in social and economic conditions and opportunities that unfairly place these groups at higher risk of developing and dying from a wide range of health conditions, including COVID-19.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

Note: DPH is updating and streamlining the COVID-19 cases, deaths, and testing data. As of 6/27/2022, the data will be published in four tables instead of twelve. The COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, and Tests by Day dataset contains cases and test data by date of sample submission. The death data are by date of death. This dataset is updated daily and contains information back to the beginning of the pandemic. The data can be found at https://data.ct.gov/Health-and-Human-Services/COVID-19-Cases-Deaths-and-Tests-by-Day/g9vi-2ahj. The COVID-19 State Metrics dataset contains over 93 columns of data. This dataset is updated daily and currently contains information starting June 21, 2022 to the present. The data can be found at https://data.ct.gov/Health-and-Human-Services/COVID-19-State-Level-Data/qmgw-5kp6 . The COVID-19 County Metrics dataset contains 25 columns of data. This dataset is updated daily and currently contains information starting June 16, 2022 to the present. The data can be found at https://data.ct.gov/Health-and-Human-Services/COVID-19-County-Level-Data/ujiq-dy22 . The COVID-19 Town Metrics dataset contains 16 columns of data. This dataset is updated daily and currently contains information starting June 16, 2022 to the present. The data can be found at https://data.ct.gov/Health-and-Human-Services/COVID-19-Town-Level-Data/icxw-cada . To protect confidentiality, if a town has fewer than 5 cases or positive NAAT tests over the past 7 days, those data will be suppressed. COVID-19 cases and associated deaths that have been reported among Connecticut residents, broken down by race and ethnicity. All data in this report are preliminary; data for previous dates will be updated as new reports are received and data errors are corrected. Deaths reported to the either the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) or Department of Public Health (DPH) are included in the COVID-19 update. The following data show the number of COVID-19 cases and associated deaths per 100,000 population by race and ethnicity. Crude rates represent the total cases or deaths per 100,000 people. Age-adjusted rates consider the age of the person at diagnosis or death when estimating the rate and use a standardized population to provide a fair comparison between population groups with different age distributions. Age-adjustment is important in Connecticut as the median age of among the non-Hispanic white population is 47 years, whereas it is 34 years among non-Hispanic blacks, and 29 years among Hispanics. Because most non-Hispanic white residents who died were over 75 years of age, the age-adjusted rates are lower than the unadjusted rates. In contrast, Hispanic residents who died tend to be younger than 75 years of age which results in higher age-adjusted rates. The population data used to calculate rates is based on the CT DPH population statistics for 2019, which is available online here: https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Health-Information-Systems--Reporting/Population/Population-Statistics. Prior to 5/10/2021, the population estimates from 2018 were used. Rates are standardized to the 2000 US Millions Standard population (data available here: https://seer.cancer.gov/stdpopulations/). Standardization was done using 19 age groups (0, 1-4, 5-9, 10-14, ..., 80-84, 85 years and older). More information about direct standardization for age adjustment is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/statnt/statnt06rv.pdf Categories are mutually exclusive. The category “multiracial” includes people who answered ‘yes’ to more than one race category. Counts may not add up to total case counts as data on race and ethnicity may be missing. Age adjusted rates calculated only for groups with more than 20 deaths. Abbreviation: NH=Non-Hispanic. Data on Connecticut deaths were obtained from the Connecticut Deaths Registry maintained by the DPH Office of Vital Records. Cause of death was determined by a death certifier (e.g., physician, APRN, medical

Maternal mortality rates can vary significantly around the world. For example, in 2022, Estonia had a maternal mortality rate of zero per 100,000 live births, while Mexico reported a rate of 38 deaths per 100,000 live births. However, the regions with the highest number of maternal deaths are Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, with differences between countries and regions often reflecting inequalities in health care services and access. Most causes of maternal mortality are preventable and treatable with the most common causes including severe bleeding, infections, complications during delivery, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and unsafe abortion. Maternal mortality in the United States In 2022, there were a total of 817 maternal deaths in the United States. Women aged 25 to 39 years accounted for 578 of these deaths, however, rates of maternal mortality are much higher among women aged 40 years and older. In 2022, the rate of maternal mortality among women aged 40 years and older in the U.S. was 87 per 100,000 live births, compared to a rate of 21 among women aged 25 to 39 years. The rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. has risen in recent years among all age groups. Differences in maternal mortality in the U.S. by race/ethnicity Sadly, there are great disparities in maternal mortality in the United States among different races and ethnicities. In 2022, the rate of maternal mortality among non-Hispanic white women was about 19 per 100,000 live births, while non-Hispanic Black women died from maternal causes at a rate of almost 50 per 100,000 live births. Rates of maternal mortality have risen for white and Hispanic women in recent years, but Black women have by far seen the largest increase in maternal mortality. In 2022, around 253 Black women died from maternal causes in the United States.

Estimates based on District hospital discharge data. Counts of and rates based on fewer than 10 births are suppressed for privacy reasons.

Source: Center for Policy Planning and Evaluation, DC Department of Health

Why This Matters

In recent decades, pregnancy-related deaths have risen in the United States. Although relatively rare and mostly preventable, the numbers are high relative to other high-income countries.

Leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths include severe bleeding, cardiac and coronary conditions, and infections. Individual, social, and structural factors contribute to maternal death risk and trends, including maternal age, preexisting medical conditions, access to quality care, insurance, and longstanding racial and ethnic inequities.

Maternal mortality rates are disproportionately higher among birthing people who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

The District Response

Enhancements to District healthcare programs. Medicaid expansion provides greater access to prenatal care, extended postpartum Medicaid coverage for a full year, and reimbursement for doula services through all District programs. For a list of local and national resources on pregnancy and related topics, click here.

Paid family leave program providing 12 weeks to bond with a new child or care for a serious health condition, and 2 weeks specifically for prenatal care.

The District established the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which investigates the causes of maternal deaths, and develops strategic frameworks to improve maternal health.

Maternal mortality ratio is defined as the number of female deaths due to obstetric causes (ICD-10 codes: A34, O00-O95, O98-O99) while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. The maternal mortality ratio indicates the likelihood of a pregnant person dying of obstetric causes. It is calculated by dividing the number of deaths among birthing people attributable to obstetric causes in a calendar year by the number of live births registered for the same period and is presented as a rate per 100,000 live births. The number of live births used in the denominator approximates the population of pregnant and birthing people who are at risk. Data are not presented for geographies with number of maternal deaths less than 11.Compared to other high-income countries, women in the US are more likely to die from childbirth or problems related to pregnancy. In addition, there are persistent disparities by race and ethnicity, with Black pregnant persons experiencing a much higher rate of maternal mortality compared to White pregnant persons. Improving the quality of medical care for pregnant individuals before, during, and after pregnancy can help reduce maternal deaths.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

As stroke mortality rates according to race were not known in Brazil, data on mortality for the year 2010 was collected from the Mortality Information System of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Cerebrovascular mortality rates adjusted for age (per 100,000) were calculated with a confidence interval of 95% (95%CI) by sex and race/skin color. The differences between races were significant for men with rates of 44.4 (43.5;45.3), 48.2 (47.1;49.3) and 63.3 (60.6;66.6) for white, brown and black, respectively; and for women, with rates of 29.0 (28.3;29.7), 33.7 (32.8;34.6) and 51.0 (48.6;53.4) for white, brown and black, respectively. The burden of stroke mortality is higher among blacks compared to brown and white.

Graph and download economic data for Premature Death Rate for Black Hawk County, IA (CDC20N2U019013) from 1999 to 2020 about Black Hawk County, IA; Waterloo; premature; death; IA; rate; and USA.

Estimates based on District hospital discharge data. Counts of and rates based on fewer than 10 births are suppressed for privacy reasons.

Source: Center for Policy Planning and Evaluation, DC Department of Health

Why This Matters

In recent decades, pregnancy-related deaths have risen in the United States. Although relatively rare and mostly preventable, the numbers are high relative to other high-income countries.

Leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths include severe bleeding, cardiac and coronary conditions, and infections. Individual, social, and structural factors contribute to maternal death risk and trends, including maternal age, preexisting medical conditions, access to quality care, insurance, and longstanding racial and ethnic inequities.

Maternal mortality rates are disproportionately higher among birthing people who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

The District Response

Enhancements to District healthcare programs. Medicaid expansion provides greater access to prenatal care, extended postpartum Medicaid coverage for a full year, and reimbursement for doula services through all District programs. For a list of local and national resources on pregnancy and related topics, click here.

Paid family leave program providing 12 weeks to bond with a new child or care for a serious health condition, and 2 weeks specifically for prenatal care.

The District established the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which investigates the causes of maternal deaths, and develops strategic frameworks to improve maternal health.

Unadjusted and adjusted Black infant mortality rate by region and variance explained, 2009–2011.

This dataset of U.S. mortality trends since 1900 highlights the differences in age-adjusted death rates and life expectancy at birth by race and sex. Age-adjusted death rates (deaths per 100,000) after 1998 are calculated based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. Populations used for computing death rates for 2011–2017 are postcensal estimates based on the 2010 census, estimated as of July 1, 2010. Rates for census years are based on populations enumerated in the corresponding censuses. Rates for noncensus years between 2000 and 2010 are revised using updated intercensal population estimates and may differ from rates previously published. Data on age-adjusted death rates prior to 1999 are taken from historical data (see References below). Life expectancy data are available up to 2017. Due to changes in categories of race used in publications, data are not available for the black population consistently before 1968, and not at all before 1960. More information on historical data on age-adjusted death rates is available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/hist293.htm. SOURCES CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, historical data, 1900-1998 (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm); CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, mortality data (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov). REFERENCES National Center for Health Statistics, Data Warehouse. Comparability of cause-of-death between ICD revisions. 2008. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/comparability_icd.htm. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics data available. Mortality multiple cause files. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm. Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Arias E. Deaths: Final data for 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 9. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf. Arias E, Xu JQ. United States life tables, 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 7. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_07-508.pdf. National Center for Health Statistics. Historical Data, 1900-1998. 2009. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm.

Each Maryland County's number of infant deaths and infant mortality rates by race in 2012 and 2013. Includes: a) Number of Infant Deaths of All Races, 2012, b) Number of Infant Deaths of All Races, 2013, c) Infant Mortality Rate of All Races Per 1,000 Live Births, 2012, d) Infant Mortality Rate of All Races Per 1,000 Live Births, 2013, e) White Infant Deaths, 2012, f) White Infant Deaths, 2013, g) White Infant Mortality Rate Per 1,000 Live Births 2012, h) White Infant Mortality Rate Per 1,000 Live Births 2013, i) Black Infant Deaths, 2012, j) Black Infant Deaths, 2013, k) Black Infant Mortality Rate Per 1,000 Live Births 2012, l) Black Infant Mortality Rate Per 1,000 Live Births 2013, m) Number of Infant Deaths All Races from 2004-2008, n) Number of Infant Deaths All Races from 2009-2013, o) Average Infant Mortality Rate of All Races from 2004-2008, p) Average Infant Mortality Rate of All Races from 2009-2013, q) Percent Change of Infant Deaths. Values = Rates based on <5 deaths are not presented since rates based on small numbers are statistically unreliable.

Infant mortality rates in the United States reveal significant disparities among racial and ethnic groups. In 2023, Black mothers faced the highest rate at nearly 11 deaths per 1,000 live births, more than double the rate for white mothers. This stark contrast persists despite overall improvements in healthcare and highlights the need for targeted interventions to address these inequalities. Birth rates and fertility trends While infant mortality rates vary, birth rates also differ across ethnicities. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women had the highest fertility rate in 2022, with about 2,237.5 births per 1,000 women, far exceeding the national average of 1,656.5. In 2023, this group maintained the highest birth rate at 79 births per 1,000 women. Asian women, by contrast, had a much lower birth rate of around 50 per thousand women. These differences in fertility rates can impact overall population growth and demographic shifts within the United States. Hispanic birth trends and fertility decline The Hispanic population in the United States has experienced significant changes in birth trends over recent decades. In 2021, 885,916 babies were born to Hispanic mothers, with a birth rate of 14.1 per 1,000 of the Hispanic population. This represents a slight increase from the previous year. However, the fertility rate among Hispanic women has declined dramatically since 1990, dropping from 108 children per 1,000 women aged 15-44 to 63.4 in 2021. This decline aligns with broader trends of decreasing fertility rates in more industrialized nations.