Abstract
This article provides a review ofmaternal mortality data and their limitations in the United States. National maternal mortality data, which rely heavily on vital statistics, document that the risk of death from pregnancy- related causes has not declined for >25 years and that striking racial disparities persist. State-based maternal mortality reviews, functional inmany states, obtain detailed information on medical and nonmedical factors contributing to maternal deaths. Without this detailed knowledge from state-level data and without addressing recognized quality problems with vital statistics data at the nationallevel, we will have difficulty understanding maternal death trends and preventing future such deaths.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 296-306 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology |
Volume | 61 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2018 |
Keywords
- death certificates
- epidemiology
- maternal mortality
- surveillance
- United States
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology