US pregnancy deaths fell last year in wake of pandemic-era spike
NEW YORK — Deaths of pregnant women in the U.S. fell in 2022, dropping significantly from a six-decade high during the pandemic, new data suggests.
More than 1,200 U.S. women died in 2021 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, according to a final tally released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, there were 733 maternal deaths, according to preliminary agency data, though the final number is likely to be higher.
Officials say the 2022 maternal death rate is on track to get close to pre-pandemic levels. But that’s not great: The rate before COVID-19 was the highest it had been in decades.
The CDC counts women who die while pregnant, during childbirth and up to 42 days after birth. Excessive bleeding, blood vessel blockages and infections are leading causes.
COVID-19 can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women, and experts believe it was the main reason for the 2021 spike. Burned out physicians may have added to the risk by ignoring pregnant women’s worries, some advocates said.
In 2021, there were about 33 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. The last time the government recorded a rate that high was 1964.
What happened “isn’t that hard to explain,” said Eugene Declercq, a maternal mortality researcher at Boston University. “The surge was COVID-related.”
Previous government analyses concluded that one quarter of maternal deaths in 2020 and 2021 were COVID-related — meaning the entire increase in maternal deaths was due to coronavirus infections or the pandemic’s wider impact on health care. Pregnant women infected with the coronavirus were nearly 8 times as likely to die as their uninfected peers, according to a recent study published by BMJ Global Health.
The bodies of pregnant women are already under strain, their heart forced to pump harder. Other health problems can make their condition more fragile. And then on top of that, “COVID is going to make all that much worse,” said Dr. Elizabeth Cherot, chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes.
Mich. gun safety: Michigan Democrats took their first steps in passing a sweeping 11-bill gun safety package Thursday as red flag laws and requirements for safe storage and universal background checks all cleared the Senate along party lines.
Michigan law requires someone buying firearms such as rifles or shotguns to be 18 years or older and at least 21 years old to purchase a handgun from a federally licensed dealer. Certain licenses allow 18-year-olds to purchase handguns from private sellers.
Legislation passed Thursday would require anyone purchasing a rifle or shotgun to undergo a background check, which is currently only required for handgun purchases, and to register for any firearm purchase. It would also implement safe storage laws creating “penalties for storing or leaving a firearm where it may be accessed by a minor.”
ND abortion ban: The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a state abortion ban will remain blocked while a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds.
The ban was designed to take effect once the U.S.
Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But a district judge put it on hold last summer while the Red River Women’s Clinic pursued a lawsuit arguing the state constitution protected a right to an abortion.
“While the regulation of abortion is within the authority of the legislature under the North Dakota Constitution, (the Red River Women’s Clinic) has demonstrated likely success on the merits that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in the limited instances of life-saving and health-preserving circumstances, and the statute is not narrowly tailored to satisfy strict scrutiny,” Chief Justice Jon J. Jensen wrote in the ruling.
The law includes exceptions to save the life of the mother and in cases of rape or incest. Otherwise, a doctor who performs an abortion would face a felony charge, which abortion rights supporters say could stop doctors from performing abortions even if the
mother’s health is at risk.
US pair to get new trial:
Italy’s highest court has ordered a retrial for two American citizens convicted in the slaying of an Italian police officer during a sting operation gone wrong.
The Court of Cassation late Wednesday threw out the guilty verdicts against Finnegan Lee Elder, now 23, and Gabriel NataleHjorth, 22, both convicted in the fatal stabbing during a plainclothes operation in July 2019 while the Americans, teens at the time, were on vacation in Rome.
The two men were sentenced to life in prison, Italy’s toughest penalty, in the initial trial. An appeals court upheld the verdict, but lowered the sentence to 24 years for Elder and 22 for Natale-Hjorth.
Carabiniere Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, was stabbed 11 times while he and a partner were on a plainclothes operation to recover a backpack the two Americans took during a failed drug deal. Elder claimed he pulled out a knife in self-defense as he and the officer struggled on the ground, and the officer tried to strangle him.
UK heath care
strikes: Unions representing more than a million health care workers in England, including nurses and paramedics — but not doctors — reached a deal Thursday to resolve months of disruptive strikes for higher wages.
The announcement came as early-career physicians spent a third day on picket lines and the day after U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt announced a budget that included no additional money for labor groups that have staged crippling strikes amid a punishing cost-ofliving crisis and double-digit inflation.
Any strike actions will be halted while rank-and-file members vote on whether to accept an offer of a lump sum payment for the current year and a 5% raise next year.
Unions argue that wages in the public sector have failed to keep pace with skyrocketing food and energy costs that have left many households struggling to pay their bills.
El Salvador’s congress has voted to approve yet another extension of emergency rules allowing police to round up suspected members of street gangs.
The vote late Wednesday marks the 12th such one-month extension granted to President Nayib Bukele since the measure was first approved on March 27, 2022.
The crackdown has resulted in over 65,000 arrests and thousands of alleged rights abuses, but remains popular in a country where gangs once demanded protection payments with impunity.
The extension came on the same day the government sent 2,000 more suspects to a huge new prison built especially for gang members.