In March 2026, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) published Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024. Data for this report were derived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), which relies on death certificates. Of note, the NVSS system tracks maternal mortality through 42 days rather than through one year postpartum, and excludes pregnancy-related deaths, and therefore does not capture suicide and overdose.
Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) is the most accurate means of reporting pregnancy-related deaths.
Nevertheless, the report highlights include:
- The report estimates that 649 women died of maternal causes in 2024, compared with 669 in 2023. The maternal mortality rate was 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, which NCHS reports as not significantly lower than the 2023 rate of 18.6.
- The report shows persistent and large differences by race and ethnicity. However, changes from 2023 and 2024 were not statistically significant. The maternal mortality rate for Black, non-Hispanic women was 44.8 per 100,000 live births, which NCHS reports as significantly higher than the rates for White, non-Hispanic (14.2), Hispanic (12.1), and Asian, non-Hispanic (18.1) women.
- By age, the 2024 rates were 13.7 (younger than 25), 16.5 (ages 25–39), and 62.3 (age 40 and older) deaths per 100,000 live births. NCHS highlights that the rate for women age 40 and older was five times higher than the rate for women younger than 25, and that differences between the 40+ group and the younger age groups were statistically significant, while differences between the two younger groups were not.
