The number of women dying during pregnancy or soon after childbirth has reached its highest level in almost 20 years, according to new data. Between 2020 and 2022, 293 women in the UK died during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of their pregnancy. The maternal death rate among black women decreased slightly compared with 2019 to 2021, but they remain three times more likely to die compared with white women. Asian women are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after compared with white women. Women living in the most deprived areas of the UK have a maternal death rate more than twice that of women living in the least deprived areas.

Source: The Guardian January 11, 2024 22:32 UTC