South Middlesex Times

Mar 12 2024

Maternal death rates in the United States may be sharply overstated as a result of faulty surveillance techniques, according to a recent study published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The study, led by researchers at Rutgers Health and other universities, challenges the estimates provided by the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The analysis found that the CDC's reported maternal death rates are significantly higher than the reality, with Cande Ananth, Chief of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, stating, "Accurate numbers are important to know where we stand and how we need to allocate money and effort to make improvements going forward."

Ananth highlighted the flaws in the CDC's methodology, pointing out that unrelated deaths are often counted as maternal deaths, leading to an inflation of the numbers. The study revealed that the inclusion of non-maternal and incidental deaths, such as those caused by car accidents or cancers unrelated to pregnancy, contributes to the overestimation of maternal death rates.

Lead author K. S. Joseph from the University of British Columbia emphasized the importance of using a pragmatic definition-based methodology to accurately identify maternal deaths. The study showed stable rates of maternal mortality and a reduction in deaths from obstetrical complications, indicating improvements in health care during pregnancy and after delivery in many areas.

While there has been progress in reducing maternal deaths from treatable causes like infections and hypertensive disorders, significant disparities in death rates by race persist. Hispanic women had the lowest death rate, while Black women had the highest in the period of 2018-2021.

The findings of the study challenge the widely held belief that maternal death rates in the United States have been increasing. By adopting more accurate surveillance techniques, researchers aim to enable focused prevention initiatives targeted at high-risk and vulnerable subpopulations.