CDC Finds More than 80% of Pregnancy-Related Deaths are Preventable

new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths that occurred between 2017 and 2019 were preventable. Researchers found six underlying causes accounted for the majority of fatalities: mental health conditions, hemorrhaging, heart problems, infections, blood clots, and cardiomyopathy. The leading causes varied by race and ethnicity. Twenty-two percent of pregnancy-related deaths took place during pregnancy, 25% occurred on the day of delivery or within a week after, and 53% of the deaths occurred between a week and a year after giving birth. A death is considered preventable if the committee determines that there was at least some chance of the death being averted by one or more reasonable changes to patient, community, provider, facility, and/or systems factors.