In '04, moms died in 13 per 100,000 births

By Mike Stobbe
ASSOCIATED PRESS

August 25, 2007

ATLANTA – U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame.

Some officials note that a change in how such deaths are reported also may be a factor.