How bad is maternal mortality in the U.S.? A new study says it's been overestimated

The new analysis of death certificates says the U.S. maternal mortality rate is in line with other wealthy countries, contradicting an earlier report from the CDC. (muratkoc/Getty Images)

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics' most recent report put the U.S. maternal mortality rate at a whopping 32.9 deaths per 100,000 births. That number garnered a great deal of attention, including being covered by NPR and other news outlets.

A new study suggests the national U.S. maternal mortality rate is actually much lower than that: 10.4 deaths per 100,000 births.