Maternal deaths in the U.S. spiked in 2021, CDC reports

Wanda Irving holds her granddaughter, Soleil, in front of a portrait of Soleil's mother, Shalon Irving, at her home in Sandy Springs, Ga., in 2017. Wanda is raising Soleil since Shalon died of complications due to hypertension a few weeks after giving birth. (Becky Harlan/NPR)

In 2021, the U.S. had one of the worst rates of maternal mortality in the country's history, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report found that 1,205 people died of maternal causes in the U.S. in 2021. That represents a 40% increase from the previous year.

These are deaths that take place during pregnancy or within 42 days following delivery, according to the World Health Organization.