U.S. maternal death rate rises sharply in 2021: CDC

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A baby winner and its parents celebrate during the Diaper Derby 2018 in New York, the United States, June 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Lin Bilin)

"From the worst to the near worst? I wouldn't exactly call that an accomplishment," says Omari Maynard.

NEW YORK, March 17 (Xinhua) -- As women continue to die due to pregnancy or childbirth each year in the United States, new federal data shows that the nation's maternal death rate rose significantly yet again in 2021, with the rates among Black women more than twice as high as those of White women.

The number of women who died of maternal causes in the United States rose to 1,205 in 2021, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics, released on Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That's a sharp increase from years earlier: 658 in 2018, 754 in 2019 and 861 in 2020.

The country's ongoing maternal mortality crisis was compounded by COVID-19, which led to a "dramatic" increase in deaths, CNN cited experts in its report of the data.

Meanwhile, CBS News reported on Thursday that deaths of pregnant women in the United States fell in 2022, dropping significantly from a six-decade high during the pandemic, from more than 1,200 in 2021 down to 733 in 2022.

"From the worst to the near worst? I wouldn't exactly call that an accomplishment," Omari Maynard, a New Yorker whose partner died after childbirth in 2019, was quoted as saying.  ■