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A tickbox doubled the US mortality rates

Maternal mortality rates appear to have risen in the last 20 years in the US. But this reflects a change in measurement rather than an actual rise in mortality.

See a 2023 article on Scientific American: “ Why Maternal Mortality Rates Are Getting Worse across the U.S. ” Or a report on National Public Radio (NPR): “ The number of people dying in the U.S. from pregnancy-related causes has more than doubled in the last 20 years. In the ninth edition, known as ICD-9 (published in 1979), the definition of maternal mortality was very narrow: it focused only on deaths during childbirth or the postpartum period, and considered any causes related to, or aggravated by, the pregnancy or its management. Some countries rely on additional systems to uncover unreported maternal deaths, but these tend to be conducted infrequently and are not necessarily considered in national statistics.

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