Pregnancy-related deaths rates spiked during pandemic: CDC

Maternal mortality rates rose 40% in 2021 in the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened a health crisis among pregnant women, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters reports. The United States has one of the highest rates of pregnancy-related deaths among developed countries, the report says. It recorded more than 1,200 deaths in pregnant women in 2021, compared with 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019, according to CDC data.