A team led by Maria Steenland examined US data and found that the mortality risk from pregnancy, including up to one year postpartum, is 44 to 70 times higher than the mortality risk from abortion. This range is about three times higher than a commonly cited earlier estimate of roughly 14 times higher, which used older data.
The study used recent national death and birth records and abortion counts. It identified many pregnancy-related causes, including hypertensive disorders, obstetric haemorrhage, chronic heart and kidney disease complications, and infections. The authors note that better death-record data and a pregnancy checkbox helped reduce undercounting, though misclassification can still occur.
The team excluded nonspecific causes and deaths from COVID-19 and miscarriages when estimating risks. They conclude that forcing people to continue pregnancies can raise their risk of death and that measures are needed to lower mortality for pregnant, birthing and postpartum people.
Difficult words
- mortality — number of deaths in a group or period
- postpartum — the time after childbirth, up to one year
- hypertensive — relating to high blood pressure or its effects
- haemorrhage — heavy blood loss, often from childbirth or injury
- complication — a medical problem that makes a condition worsecomplications
- misclassification — wrong recording of a cause or category
- undercounting — counting too few cases or events in data
- exclude — to leave out or not include someone or somethingexcluded
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What measures could reduce mortality for pregnant, birthing and postpartum people in your community? Give two examples and why.
- The researchers excluded deaths from COVID-19 and miscarriages when estimating risks. Do you think this was a good choice? Why or why not?
- How might better death-record data and a pregnancy checkbox change future statistics about pregnancy-related deaths?
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