Trends in severe maternal morbidity complications by patient characteristics, 2016–2021 (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)

Summary

This Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Brief presents trend statistics on severe maternal morbidity (SMM) overall and for groups of SMM complications by patient characteristics.

Content

Key findings

• From 2016 to 2021, the rate of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) increased 40  percent, from 72.0 to 101.1 per 10,000  delivery stays. 
• Patients with the largest increase in the SMM rate from 2016 to 2021 include: 
• Women of Asian/Pacific Islander non Hispanic race and ethnicity (56  percent) 
• Women with self-pay/no charge as the expected payer (48 percent) 
• Women aged 12–19 and 20–24 years (44 percent) 
• Women living in middle community level income areas (43 percent) 
• Women living in large metro areas  (42 percent) 
• Delivery stays with respiratory complications (137 percent) followed by renal complications (119 percent) and sepsis (54 percent) had the largest six year rate increase compared with all other complications. 
• Although the SMM rates increased  between 2016 and 2021 for women of all  ethnicities, the increase was largest for women who were Other, non-Hispanic  (48 percent), Black non-Hispanic, and  Hispanic (43 percent for both), as compared to women who were White, non-Hispanic (34 percent).