Opinion: State review boards can change the trajectory of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S.
Pregnancy-related deaths have long been shrouded in a cloak of invisibility. That needs to change.
Despite having the most advanced medical technology in the world, the U.S. has the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths of any high-income nation — and the problem has gotten worse even as the rate has declined globally.
When a woman dies from pregnancy-related causes in this country, the factors that led to this tragic event often go unexamined. We need better data to understand what happened, and then use what we’ve learned to save women’s lives.
Promising efforts underway are helping states get to the root causes of these deaths and determine what can be done to prevent them in the future.
