
As part of putting this in (grim) perspective, the report notes (citations omitted):
In contrast, the rate of maternal mortality has consistently dropped in most high-resource countries over the past 25 years. Severe maternal morbidity has been increasing in the United States as well. It is estimated that for every woman who dies in childbirth, 70 more come close to dying . All told, more than 50,000 U.S. women each year suffer severe maternal morbidity or “near miss” mortality, and roughly 700 die, leaving partners and families to raise children while coping with a devastating loss. Like the rates of maternal mortality, U.S. rates of severe maternal morbidity are high relative to those in other high-resource countries. In this context, it is notable that some local efforts in the United States have shown progress in reducing rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. In California, for example, the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative led an initiative that reduced rates of maternal mortality by 55 percent (from 2006 and 2013) …
Childbirth is the most common reason U.S. women are hospitalized, and one of every four persons discharged from U.S. hospitals is either a childbearing woman or a newborn . As a result, childbirth is the single largest category of hospital-based expenditures for public payers in the country, and among the highest investments by large employers in the well-being of their employees. Cumulatively, this spending accounts for 0.6 percent of the nation’s entire gross domestic product, roughly one-half of which is paid for by state Medicaid programs.

In contrast to maternal mortality, infant mortality in the United States has been declining over the past 20 years, and there are expanded opportunities for survival at increasing levels of prematurity and illness complexity. However, large disparities persist among racial/ethnic groups and between rural and urban populations. In 2017, infant mortality rates per 1,000 live births by race and ethnicity were as follows: non-Hispanic Black, 10.97 per 1,000; American Indian/Alaska Native, 9.21 per 1,000; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 7.64 per 1,000; Hispanic, 5.1 per 1,000; non-Hispanic White, 4.67 per 1,000; and Asian, 3.78 per 1,000. … Rates of preterm birth and low birthweight have increased since 2014, and as with other outcomes, show large disparities by race and ethnicity. Low-birthweight (less than 5.5 pounds at birth) and preterm babies are more at risk for many short and long-term health problems, such as infections, delayed motor and social development, and learning disabilities. About one-third of infant deaths in the United States are related to preterm birth …