GAO charts sharp increase in pregnancy-related deaths during pandemic

COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the United States last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims, the Associated Press reports. The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that pregnancy-related deaths have spiked nearly 80% since 2018, with COVID-19 being a factor in a quarter of the 1,178 deaths reported last year.