On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control released a look at the latest trends in maternal mortality.
On a national scale, the number and rate of mothers who died as a result of pregnancy or childbirth dropped in 2024, compared to 2023.
All rates will be per 100,000 live births unless otherwise stated.
“In 2024, 649 women died of maternal causes in the United States, compared with 669 in 2023,” the report states. “The maternal mortality rate for 2024, 17.9 deaths, was not significantly lower than the rate of 18.6 in 2023.”
That’s the overall. When you start breaking down the numbers by race and age, disparities become apparent quickly.
In 2024, the rate of maternal deaths among Black mothers was 44.8. That’s less than in 2023 (when the rate was 50.3), and it represents the largest decrease in maternal deaths among any single racial group, but the rate was still far ahead of rates among Asian, White, and Hispanic mothers.
Nationally, the rate of maternal deaths among Asian mothers increased from 10.7 maternal deaths to 18.1.
No cause was identified, but CDC data shows that the number of live births for Asian mothers in the U.S. dropped by 9% between 2018 and 2022 -- the highest rate of falloff for any racial group.
The number of live births increased only among Hispanic women in the same time frame, by 5.7%.
Rates of maternal mortality among White and Hispanic mothers remained statistically flat from 2023 to 2024 at about 14 deaths and 12 deaths, respectively.
The highest rate of maternal mortality by age was mothers 40 and older. This group saw 62.3 deaths per 100,000 in 2024, up slightly from 59.3 deaths in 2023. Mothers younger than 25 also saw rates of maternal death rise from 2023, from 12.5 to 13.7 deaths. Mothers ages 26 to 39 saw a dip in maternal death rates, from 18.1 to 16.5.
How South Carolina factors in
While Wednesday’s CDC report did not break out data by state, the most recent numbers looking at South Carolina show the state’s rates of maternal deaths universally exceed national rates.
The most oft-cited reports on South Carolina’s maternal mortality rates come from United Health Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund. Both reports track maternal mortality in South Carolina over a multiyear period.
According to United Health Foundation, South Carolina’s overall rate of 31.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births between 2019 and 2023 was higher than all but eight states and the District of Columbia (Delaware, Maine, and Vermont were not tracked).
Race
As it was in the CDC’s nationwide numbers, the rate of maternal deaths among Black mothers in South Carolina was notably higher -- 64.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 between 2019 and 2023.
By comparison, the rate of maternal deaths among White mothers was 20.9. The rates among Hispanic and Asian mothers were not calculated for South Carolina.
Age
From 2019 to 2023, the rate of maternal deaths was highest for mothers 35 and older -- 71.6 deaths per 100,000 live births. Ages 25 to 29 had a rate of 18.8 and ages 30 to 34 had a rate of 40.4 deaths.
Education level
Education level matters a lot in terms of maternal deaths, according to United Health Foundation. Whereas 12.5 mothers (per 100,000) with a college degree died between 2019 and 2023, there were 51 mothers who died without having a high school diploma. With a diploma or GED, the rate was 39.9 deaths.
Location
Location matters as well. According to United Health, the rate of maternal deaths among mothers living in metro areas of South Carolina was 30.9, whereas the rate among non-metro (i.e., rural) mothers was 51.3.
Overall
In its 2025 report, the Commonwealth Fund ranked South Carolina the eighth-worst state for maternal mortality between 2019 and 2023. The organization charted 47.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The different numbers reflect different criteria for maternal deaths. The Commonwealth Fund charted deaths of up to one year postpartum; United Health charted deaths occurring within 42 days of the end of a pregnancy.
Why are the numbers so bad for South Carolina?
Part of why South Carolina’s numbers regarding maternal mortality are worse than national averages (and most other states’ numbers) starts with access to healthcare.
According to Surgo Health’s Maternal Vulnerability Index, or MVI -- which charts factors like reproductive healthcare, general healthcare, and socioeconomic determinants such as food insecurity and social support -- mothers in South Carolina are among the most vulnerable in the country.
According to MVI, mothers in every county in South Carolina are, at best, moderately vulnerable. The counties with the least vulnerable maternal populations are in Lexington, Greenville, Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, and Beaufort. Residents of all counties but Dorchester have full access to maternity care, according to the March of Dimes. Dorchester County mothers have low access.
Conversely, the highest rates of maternal vulnerability are in the Pee Dee, rural parts of the Upstate, and western counties of the Low Country, where access to maternal medical care is spotty at best and nonexistent at worst.
“You can see the vulnerability index for each county, and it is so drastic from county to county across the state of South Carolina,” says Tori Nardone, communications and marketing director for the South Carolina Women’s Rights & Empowerment Network (WREN). “More urban areas like Charleston and Greenville have relatively better maternal vulnerability indexes than more rural areas. And I think that it's a lack of providers in those rural areas.”
In 2025, WREN released its Status of Women and Girls Statewide report, which found that travel distance to hospitals was a major contributor to maternal vulnerability. The March of Dimes found that women living in South Carolina’s rural counties traveled an average of 26.3 miles -- actual marathon distance -- to the nearest birthing hospital. That compares to fewer than 10 miles for urban-living women. In some counties -- notably Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, and Hampton -- women drove more than 40 miles to the nearest birthing hospital.
Race, again, figures in heavily. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Perinatology found that “the likelihood of individuals with high risk in rural areas giving birth in a hospital with neonatal intensive care capacity depends on both geographic proximity and sociodemographic factors, including younger age, low income, and Black race.”
A 2025 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that “American Indian and Black birthing individuals delivered in lower-quality hospitals, whereas there was no significant difference for Asian and Hispanic individuals compared with White birthing individuals. Our findings also suggested that the disparity in care between Black and White birthing individuals would have been reduced if they had delivered at their nearest hospital.”
“We are the eighth-highest in maternal mortality in the country, and Black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes in South Carolina,” Nardone says. “I think it's noteworthy to say [that] over 80% of those are preventable deaths. As someone who is a woman and a mother in the state of South Carolina it’s incredibly alarming to me.”
Policy
Nardone argues that South Carolina’s official position on reproductive health issues is overbearing and detrimental to both women and healthcare providers.
“The attacks that we have on reproductive healthcare in our state are driving providers out of the state,” she says.
South Carolina has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, which could require medical providers to prove, in court, that their patients were at serious risk of injury or death in order for a termination to take place, or risk decades of prison time.
In a commentary published in the South Carolina Daily Gazette in October, a pair of medical students outlined how the fear of being held criminally liable for events like miscarriage is driving them from the state. According to the South Carolina Office of Rural Health, six hospitals have closed in the state since 2010.
SCORH does have initiatives to address rural healthcare and the state is expected to receive up to $1 billion in federal funding for rural hospitals. Even though critics worry that these new federal funds will turn out to be less than what hospitals otherwise would have received over a decade, part of the federal allotment focuses on maternal care.
For Tori Nardone, the presence of the state’s strict abortion laws gives her pause about having more children here.
“I am terrified to be pregnant in the state of South Carolina,” she says. “If I wanted to be pregnant, start my family, I would very seriously consider going somewhere [that] provided a better level of support and where the reproductive freedom wasn't so restrictive.”
Preexisting health conditions are big factors
WREN’s 2025 report found that preexisting conditions, such as substance use disorder and mental health issues, correlated heavily with poor maternal outcomes.
The University of Wisconsin's Population Health Initiative consistently ranks South Carolina among the least healthy states overall.
Data from the state Department of Public Health show that Black South Carolinians are far more likely to experience chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes than members of other racial groups.
A 2022 study published in The Lancet concluded that lower and lessened income levels frequently correlate with worse mental health and access to mental healthcare. Income disparities are stark when broken down among racial groups.
According to the Black Wealth Data Center, Black women -- who, remember, are four times as likely as White women to die from maternal issues -- had one-tenth the median household net worth ($14,000) of White women ($145,000) in 2022.
Small progress is happening
According to a February report by the CDC, timing matters in the outcomes of maternal and infant health, but early prenatal care has struggled.
Nationally, “the largest decrease in first trimester prenatal care was for mothers younger than age 20,” the report states. “From 2021 to 2024, prenatal care beginning in the first trimester decreased, while care beginning in the second trimester and late or no care increased, for all maternal age groups. Late or no care increased 16% to 18% for all age groups.”
South Carolina, however, was one of six states to buck these trends. From 2021 to 2024, the state saw a 7.2% drop in late care or no-care.
The study also found that South Carolina is among the top 20 states with “the highest rates of adequate prenatal care reception.”
