Pregnancy complications remain a major global health concern, but the numbers vary substantially by condition, geography, age, race and ethnicity, and the way a complication is recorded. Worldwide, about 287,000 women died during or after pregnancy and childbirth in 2020. In the United States, gestational hypertension affected 10.4% of live births in 2024, while 10.41% of births were preterm in 2023. These figures describe populations and trends; they do not predict an individual pregnancy.
Contents
- Global scale and leading complications
- Gestational hypertension in U.S. births
- Which U.S. pregnancies show higher hypertension rates?
- Maternal mortality in the United States
- Severe maternal morbidity during birth
- Preterm birth and infant outcomes
Global scale and leading complications
The World Health Organization reported about 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2020. This figure covers deaths during pregnancy and childbirth and deaths following pregnancy. WHO also reports a current estimate of about 140 million births worldwide each year. The annual birth estimate and the 2020 death estimate describe different measures and should not be treated as a single-year risk calculation. (WHO, “Maternal health”)
Access to skilled care improved over the longer period covered by WHO’s comparison. Skilled health personnel attended 58% of births worldwide in 1990, compared with 81% in 2019. Over approximately 2000–2020, deaths from complications during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period declined 38%; the average annual decline was just under 3%. These are broad global comparisons, not measurements of every individual complication. (WHO, “Maternal health”)
The burden is uneven geographically. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia together accounted for 86% of global maternal deaths in 2017. In the same 2017 period, approximately 810 women died each day worldwide from pregnancy and childbirth complications. WHO’s maternal morbidity information also reports suggested estimates of 20 to 30 women experiencing maternal morbidity for every maternal death. WHO presents that ratio with estimate language, so it should not be read as a precise current count. (WHO, “Maternal health”; WHO, “Maternal morbidity and well-being”)
Gestational hypertension in U.S. births
Gestational hypertension is one of the clearest recent U.S. examples of a pregnancy complication becoming more frequently recorded at birth. The number of recorded cases rose from 235,693 in 2016 to 377,267 in 2024. During the same period, the rate increased from 6.0% of live births to 10.4%. The CDC report describes the change as a 60% increase in the number of cases and a 73% increase in the rate. (CDC/NCHS, “Gestational Hypertension Among Women Giving Birth: United States, 2016–2024”)
The reported average annual increase was 6% for the number of cases and 7% for the rate from 2016 through 2024. Looking farther back, the birth-certificate gestational-hypertension rate increased 108% from 1989 to 2016. The evidence cited in the CDC report estimates that hypertensive disorders of pregnancy affect about 5%–16% of pregnancies. (CDC/NCHS, “Gestational Hypertension Among Women Giving Birth: United States, 2016–2024”)
The CDC/NCHS figures come from birth certificates and may underreport the condition. The report’s definition includes pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia as recorded in the medical record. That means changes in documentation and recording may affect the observed trend, and the statistics should not be interpreted as a complete clinical census of every case.
Which U.S. pregnancies show higher hypertension rates?
The 2016–2024 increase appeared across the racial and ethnic groups, age groups, weight categories and birth types included in the CDC analysis. The following comparison keeps the measurement period and the reported rates together:
| Group | 2016 rate | 2024 rate | Reported increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black mothers | 7.4% | 12.3% | 66% |
| Hispanic mothers | 4.9% | 8.5% | 73% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native mothers | 7.6% | 13.2% | 74% |
| Asian mothers | 3.5% | 7.1% | 103% |
| Mothers younger than 20 | 6.4% | 10.2% | 59% |
| Mothers ages 25–29 | 5.7% | 10.5% | 84% |
| Mothers age 40 and older | 8.2% | 12.2% | 49% |
Rates also differed by prepregnancy weight category in the CDC report. Among underweight mothers, the rate rose from 2.7% in 2016 to 5.5% in 2024, a reported increase of 104%. Among normal-weight mothers, it rose from 3.8% to 6.8%, or 79%. Among mothers with obesity, it rose from 10.2% to 15.4%, or 51%. These percentages compare recorded rates within each group; they do not establish why the rates changed. (CDC/NCHS, “Gestational Hypertension Among Women Giving Birth: United States, 2016–2024”)
Birth type was another reported distinction. The rate rose from 5.8% to 10.2% for singleton births, a 76% increase. For twin or higher-order multiple births, it rose from 12.4% to 17.0%, a 37% increase. In 2024, state rates ranged from 6.9% in New Jersey to 14.6% in Louisiana, and rates increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2016 to 2024. (CDC/NCHS, “Gestational Hypertension Among Women Giving Birth: United States, 2016–2024”)
Maternal mortality in the United States
The United States recorded 817 maternal deaths in 2022, corresponding to 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2021, the total was 1,205 maternal deaths and the rate was 32.9 per 100,000 live births. Earlier reported rates were 17.4 in 2018, 20.1 in 2019 and 23.8 in 2020. These are rates per 100,000 live births, not percentages of all pregnancies. (CDC, “Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2022”)
The 2022 rate varied considerably by race and ethnicity. It was 49.5 per 100,000 live births for Black women, 19.0 for White women, 16.9 for Hispanic women and 13.2 for Asian women. These group rates describe differences in population outcomes and should not be used to assign an individual’s risk without clinical context. (CDC, “Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2022”)
Age differences were also pronounced in 2022. The maternal mortality rate was 14.4 per 100,000 live births for women younger than 25, 21.1 for women ages 25–39 and 87.1 for women age 40 and older. The rate for women age 40 and older was six times the rate for women younger than 25. CDC rates use the WHO definition described in the source, and the agency notes that small-event rates can fluctuate and that reporting and coding accuracy are limitations.
Severe maternal morbidity during birth
Maternal death is only one measure of serious pregnancy-related harm. CDC/NCHS final birth data for 2023 reported several specific severe morbidity events among U.S. births. A maternal transfusion occurred in 21,040 births, a rate of 586.3 per 100,000 live births. A third- or fourth-degree perineal laceration occurred in 28,068 births, or 782.1 per 100,000. (CDC/NCHS, “Births: Final Data for 2023”)
Other 2023 measures included 1,486 births involving a ruptured uterus, a rate of 41.4 per 100,000 live births; 1,764 involving an unplanned hysterectomy, a rate of 49.2 per 100,000; and 6,652 involving admission to an intensive care unit, a rate of 185.4 per 100,000. Each figure counts births with the listed event, so the categories should not be added together: one birth may involve more than one complication. (CDC/NCHS, “Births: Final Data for 2023”)
The rates also differed among groups. Among Black mothers in 2023, maternal transfusion occurred at 761.4 per 100,000 live births and intensive-care-unit admission at 284.2 per 100,000. Among Hispanic mothers, the maternal transfusion rate was 523.8 per 100,000. CDC/NCHS reports these as live births with the listed morbidity per 100,000 live births in the specified group; unreliable estimates were not used. (CDC/NCHS, “Births: Final Data for 2023”)
Preterm birth and infant outcomes
Preterm birth is an important pregnancy outcome because complications can affect both the parent and newborn. In 2023, 373,902 U.S. births were preterm, representing 10.41% of births. The rate was 14.65% among Black mothers, 9.44% among White mothers and 10.14% among Hispanic mothers. These figures are U.S. birth statistics for 2023, not global estimates. (CDC/NCHS, “Births: Final Data for 2023”)
The CDC reports a U.S. preterm-birth rate of 10.4% in 2022, after a 1% decline from 2021. Preterm birth and low birth weight together accounted for about 14.0% of U.S. infant deaths in 2022. The combined measure does not mean every infant death in that share was caused by a pregnancy complication alone; it identifies the contribution reported for those conditions in the CDC source. (CDC, “Preterm Birth”)
Taken together, these statistics show several different dimensions of pregnancy complications: global maternal deaths, U.S. diagnosed hypertension, life-threatening maternal morbidity, and newborn outcomes associated with preterm birth. The periods and definitions matter. WHO global estimates should not be treated as current 2026 counts, and CDC birth-certificate or mortality statistics may not capture every clinical event in the same way. This article is descriptive information for parenting-guide context, not medical advice.