Almost 200 women in the United States died after an ectopic pregnancy between 2020 and 2025, compared with about 100 in the previous six years, according to a ProPublica analysis of federal death records published this week. No federal health agency has publicly acknowledged or explained the increase.
That matters to households more than the phrase maternal mortality suggests. An ectopic pregnancy is not a late-pregnancy emergency. It is an early one. It usually declares itself in the first trimester, often before a first prenatal appointment has been scheduled, and it typically arrives at an emergency department rather than an obstetrician's office.
