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maternal mortality rate

The maternal death rate has dramatically decreased in recent decades worldwide. But in the U.S., it has risen more than 26%.

When people think of women dying during childbirth, they don't usually think of the United States. But according to a study published in 2016 in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the U.S. saw a 26.6% increase in pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths for women from 2000 to 2014. That's a sharp contrast to other developed nations — and even much of the developing world — where maternal death rates have plummeted.

The U.S. is the only developed country where maternal death rates have been rising. Photo via Jean-Sebastien Evrard/Getty Images.

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