pregnant and intubated patient in SICU in Idaho - FILE - AP - 3.16.23
FILE - A pregnant and intubated COVID-19 patient lies in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit in a hospital in Boise, Idaho, on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. More than 1,200 U.S. women died in 2021 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, according to a final tally released Thursday, March 16, 2023, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women, and experts believe it was the main reason for the 2021 spike. (AP Photo/Kyle Green)

NEW YORK (AP) — New data suggests U.S. deaths of pregnant women dropped significantly in 2022. It comes after a year when the maternal death rate was the highest in nearly six decades. According to a final tally released Thursday, more than 1,200 U.S. women died in 2021 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. That was the highest maternal death rate since 1964. Government health officials are still compiling data for 2022, but it appears last year the rate dropped back down to pre-pandemic levels. But that’s not great either: The rate before COVID-19 was the highest it had been in decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks the data.

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