New government data suggests U.S. maternal deaths have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. About 680 women died last year during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. That’s down from 817 deaths in 2022. COVID-19 seems to be the main explanation for the improvement: Far fewer death certificates are mentioning it as a contributor to pregnancy-related deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Thursday detailing the final maternal mortality data for 2022. It also recently released provisional data for 2023. Читать дальше...