Maternal mortality rate spiked during COVID-19, study says

(CNN) – More pregnant women died during the first year of the pandemic than in the two years before the pandemic.

Between April 2020 and December 2020, there were 25 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births compared to 19 deaths between 2018 and the beginning of 2020.

The latest stats come from a study published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The increase was especially high among Hispanic and Black women.

Researchers say the primary reason for this wasn’t COVID-19, it was other things like “viral diseases, infections, respiratory issues and diabetes.”

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