Latest Death rates News
After CalMatters investigation, Newsom signs law to shed light on maternity ward closures
In the face of rapidly disappearing maternity care, Gov. Gavin Newsom this weekend vetoed a bill that was meant to slow closures of labor wards but signed a law that will give communities more time to plan for the loss of that service. At least 56 maternity wards have closed across...
Sepsis and malnutrition stalk the new mothers and babies of South Darfur
CAIRO (AP) — Mothers and children in the Sudanese region of South Darfur are experiencing one of the “worst” health emergencies in the world, humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday, one of the consequences of the violence that has engulfed the country since April 2023....
Maternal deaths surged in Texas in 2020, 2021
The rate of Texas women who died because of pregnancy or childbirth rose sharply in 2020 and 2021 to the highest since the state started tracking maternal deaths in 2013. Even excluding deaths related to COVID-19, the numbers were worse than usual, reversing two years of progress in driving the...
Inquiry into UK hospital where a nurse killed 7 babies will not review evidence against her
LONDON (AP) — An inquiry into an English hospital where a neonatal nurse was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill seven others began Tuesday as her supporters push to clear her name. But the inquiry’s head made it clear it would not be a review of Lucy Letby...
Hundreds of places in the US said racism was a public health crisis. What's changed?
More than 200 cities and counties declared racism was a public health crisis in the past few years, mostly after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis in May 2020. Racial justice advocates said they finally felt heard by the quick swell of political will to address disparities like...
America is trying to fix its maternal mortality crisis with federal, state and local programs
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — At the site of a race massacre that reduced neighborhoods to ashes a century ago, where murals memorialize a once-thriving “ Black Wall Street,” one African American mother strives to keep others from dying as they try to bring new life into the world. Black...
Takeaways from AP's report on what the US can learn from other nations about maternal deaths
How can the U.S. solve its growing maternal mortality crisis? Health experts say one way is to look to other countries. The U.S. has one of the highest maternal death rates of any wealthy nation — hovering around 20 per 100,000 live births overall and 50 for Black moms, according...
She fought to become a midwife. Now she’s fighting to save mothers and their babies in South Sudan
BENTIU, South Sudan (AP) — Elizabeth Nyachiew was 16 when she watched her neighbor bleed to death during childbirth. She vowed to become a midwife to spare others from the same fate in South Sudan, a country with one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates. “If I saw...
COVID-19 falls to No. 10 cause of death in US
U.S. death rates fell last year for all age groups compared with 2022, federal health officials said Thursday. Here's what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed: — COVID-19 fell to the 10th leading cause of death. Early in the pandemic, the...
Microplastics are everywhere, but are they harming us?
NEW YORK (AP) — Microplastics have been found in the ocean and the air, in our food and water. They have been found in a wide range of body tissues, including the heart, liver, kidneys and even testicles. But are they actually harming you? Evidence suggests they...