Maternal Mortality

Maternal Mortality Rates Are Increasing

Pregnancy-related mortality rates in the state of California have increased significantly in each of the last three years.  No one is sure why.  In the 1990's California's rates ranged from 5.6 to 10.7 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is consistent with the overall US rate.  Begining in 2000 the rate climbed to 11.1 and in the last three reported years it has averaged over 14.  Also concerning is a similar rise in the entire US rate.  These rates are much higher than the Healthy People 2010 goal of 4.3 maternal deaths per 100,00 live births.  Definitions are critically important and are reviewed on a related page. 

CA and US MMR


Racial Disparity

The over three-fold increased rate in pregnancy-related deaths among African-American Women (see graph below) raises major concerns.  Latinas and Asian-Americans now have rates similar to Caucasians in California.  The African-American racial disparity is seen in other states and has had limited research.

PR Mortality by Race
A major project within CMQCC is the first state-wide chart review of maternal deaths to identify the reasons for this increase and to discover opportunities for improvement in medical care (California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (CA-PAMR)).  Pregnancy associated and related deaths are being reviewed to ensure correct classification of cases.  CA-PAMR began with 2002 as that was the closest year that had birth-certificate and death-certificate matched cases.