Leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. 2017-2019

Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) are multidisciplinary committees that convene at the state or local level to comprehensively review deaths during or within a year of pregnancy (pregnancy-associated deaths). Data on 1,018 pregnancy-related deaths among residents of 36 states from 2017–2019 were shared with CDC through the Maternal Mortality Review Information Application (MMRIA).

Among the 1,018 pregnancy-related deaths, an underlying cause of death was identified for 987 deaths.
Specific cause of death was missing (n=10) or listed as unknown (n=21) for a total of 31 (3.0%) pregnancy-related deaths. Only underlying causes with at least 10 pregnancy-related deaths total are included in the table; therefore, the causes in the table may not reflect all causes of death overall or for each race and ethnicity category. Percentages are not presented when the denominator is <10