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For every five mothers dying in the United States from pregnancy and childbirth, three could have been saved if they had received better medical care, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report published Tuesday. The report details how mothers are dying needlessly before, during and up to a year after giving birth from pregnancy-related complications and health conditions aggravated by childbirth. The agency's latest analysis of national maternal mortality data adds to the growing body of evidence that more than half of deaths are preventable. And it further illustrates how delayed and missed diagnoses by medical providers, failures to recognize warning signs, and a lack of patient access to healthcare are all fueling this country's status as the most dangerous place to give birth among developed nations. (Young, 5/7)

African-American, Native American and Alaska Native women die of pregnancy-related causes at a rate about three times higher than those of white women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. The racial disparity has persisted, even grown, for years despite frequent calls to improve access to medical care for women of color. Sixty percent of all pregnancy-related deaths can be prevented with better health care, communication and support, as well as access to stable housing and transportation, the researchers concluded. (Rabin, 5/7)

"An American mom today is 50% more likely to die in childbirth than her own mother was," said Dr. Neel Shah, a Harvard Medical School obstetrician. Separately, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released new guidelines saying being black is the greatest risk factor for these deaths. The guidelines say women should have a comprehensive heart-risk evaluation 12 weeks after delivery, but up to 40% of women don't return for that visit and payment issues may be one reason. (Stobbe and Marchione, 5/7)

The leading cause of death was cardiovascular conditions, such as heart disease and stroke, which accounted for 33 percent of pregnancy-related deaths. Infections accounted for nearly 13 percent, and obstetric hemorrhage accounted for 11 percent. A cause of death could not be determined in nearly 7 percent of the cases, according to the report. (Bever, 5/8)

“While maternal deaths are relatively rare, every death is tragic and it often represents a web of missed opportunities,” said Dr. Nicole Davis, an epidemiologist at the CDC and a co-author of the new report. (Thielking, 5/7)

The U.S. has seen its maternal mortality rate rise for decades while most other countries have experienced declines. A 2017 study published in the Lancet found the U.S. had a maternal mortality rate of 26.4 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2015 compared with 7.3 deaths in Canada, 7.8 in France, and 8.8 deaths in England. (Johnson, 5/7)