Risk of maternal death during pregnancy greatly underestimated : Shared by Tom McDermott

The results of this newly published study show that the risks of mortality during pregnancy in the US are far higher than previously thought. This result feeds into the continuing debate in the US over the supposed risks of abortion, but it also should add to thinking about the risks of pregnancy globally.
Tom

Risk of Maternal Death During Pregnancy Greatly Underestimated, Study Finds

Authors: Maria Steenland, Dr. Benjamin Brown, Marie Thoma 

Publication: Brown University / JAMA Network Open Date: January 28, 2026 URL: Click here for the article

Summary:

A new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland and Brown University found that commonly cited statistics on the mortality risk of pregnancy compared to abortion in the U.S. are a vast undercount. The mortality risk from pregnancy (including up to one year postpartum) is 44 to 70 times higher than the mortality risk from abortion—three times higher than previously estimated. Prior estimates stated that the risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than that of abortion, based on data from 1998 to 2005 when mortality rates for ongoing pregnancies were estimated between 8.8 and 14.5 per 100,000 live births.

The current study, using data from 2018 to 2021, found an annual average of 32.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, with the highest rate of 43.9 occurring in 2021. The research team analyzed data on deaths and births from the U.S. National Vital Statistics System, abortion-related deaths from the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System, and abortion numbers from the Guttmacher Institute. The study defined pregnancy-related deaths as occurring during pregnancy or within one year from the end of pregnancy, identified by hundreds of specific underlying causes including hypertension disorders, obstetric hemorrhage, complications from chronic heart and kidney disease, and various infections.

Quotes:

"It is widely understood by scientists that continuing a pregnancy carries a much higher risk of death than having an abortion. Our new analysis shows that it is far more dangerous to be pregnant than to have an abortion, and this gap in mortality risk is even larger than previously recognized," said lead study author Maria Steenland, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Health.

"Our findings underscore how dangerous abortion bans are for pregnant people: forcing someone to continue a pregnancy puts them at a dramatically higher risk of death — along with so many other harms. The data also highlight the urgent need to lower mortality rates for all pregnant, birthing and postpartum people," said study author Dr. Benjamin Brown, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School.

"Even with this conservative approach to calculating maternal mortality, we found the risk of dying from pregnancy and childbirth far exceeded the risk of dying from abortion. People deserve access to updated information about these comparative risks and policies that reflect these realities," said study author Marie Thoma, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist and an associate professor at the University of Maryland.