At two Arizona hospitals, a six-year study found Native patients had the highest rate of life-threatening birth complications. Their rate rose fivefold, the only statistically significant increase among groups; 64 of 1,554 births to Native patients involved severe cases.
Researchers define severe maternal morbidity as life-threatening complications during pregnancy, labor or postpartum. The study did not identify what drove the increase; a next phase will examine age, prenatal-care access, socioeconomic factors and comorbidities.
The article places the findings in a national context: Native people have the highest maternal mortality rates of any demographic. It says mental health conditions and infections are leading causes of death for Native mothers, and researchers recently found the vast majority of those deaths were preventable. In 2024, 75% of pregnant Native people lacked access to the Indian Health Service to give birth.
