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Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review data & statistics

The Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review (MMMRC) uses various data sources to identify all deaths of people while pregnancy or within a year of the end of pregnancy, regardless of cause of death.
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What are pregnancy-related deaths?

Pregnancy-related deaths are those that occur during or within one year of pregnancy, from a pregnancy complication, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy, or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiological effects of pregnancy. By understanding these cases, the MMMRC can identify opportunities to prevent similar deaths and inform maternal health programs, policy, and systems.

Massachusetts data

Through the findings of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, the Committee found that in Massachusetts between 2019 and 2024:

Chart description in caption

Bar chart titled displaying pregnancy-related mortality ratio by race/ethnicity in Massachusetts from 2019–2024. Black non-Hispanic individuals have the highest ratio at 38.7, compared to an overall ratio of 20.3, followed by Hispanic (16.8), Non-Hispanic white (16.4), and Non-Hispanic Asian (2.7).

  • The pregnancy related mortality ratio is 20.3 deaths pers 100,000 live births, with a general decrease in deaths between 2021-2024.
  • Black non-Hispanic birthing people experienced pregnancy-related mortality at a greater rate compared to their White non-Hispanic counterparts. 
horizontal bar chart - details in caption

Horizontal bar chart displaying most frequent underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths in Massachusetts from 2019–2024. Mental health conditions are the leading cause, accounting for 38% (with 34% from substance use disorder and 4% from other conditions. The other top causes included hemorrhage at 14%, infection at 9%, and embolism at 9%.

  • Mental health conditions (38%) were the more frequent cause of pregnancy-related deaths, followed by hemorrhage (14%), infection (9%), and embolism (9%) respectively.
  • The leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths among Black non-Hispanic birthing people was hemorrhage (40%) and among White non-Hispanic birthing people was mental health (52%).
Details of infographic in caption

Donut chart showing the percentage of pregnancy-related deaths the Committee determined to be preventable in Massachusetts from 2019-2024. The chart shows that 85% of deaths (70 cases) were determined to be preventable, while 15% (12 cases) were determined to be not preventable.

  • Eighty-five percent of pregnancy-related deaths were determined to be preventable.

Timing of pregnancy-related deaths, MA, 2019-2024National MMRC data* Massachusetts MMRC data
During pregnancy21%16%
Day of delivery 11%12%
1-6 days after the end of pregnancy 10%16%
7-42 days after the end of pregnancy21%21%
43 days after the end if pregnancy37%35%

*National MMRC data from reviewed pregnancy-related deaths in 46 states in 2022

  • More than half of pregnancy-related deaths occurred 7 days to one year after pregnancy. 

For state specific data please refer to our most recent report. For information on case identification please review our methodology.

National data

  • Birthing people in the United States are more likely to die from childbirth or pregnancy-related causes than those in other high-income countries.
  • 87% of US pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
  • Black and American Indian and Alaska Native birthing individuals remain the most disproportionately affected groups in the US maternal mortality.
  • Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause and American Indian and Alaska Native women are 2-3 times more likely to die than White women. These disparities only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Disparities reflect systemic issues rooted in access to care, socioeconomic status, and structural inequities within health systems.
  • The majority (71%) of maternal deaths occur in the first year after birth. Despite efforts to improve clinical care during labor and delivery, long-term solutions must include policy, social support, and integrated care models that extend into the postpartum period.
  • Substance use accounts for more than one in five pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S.

Sources

Data & Reports

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