Errors on death certificates can falsify death data

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the maternal mortality rate in the United States is very high compared to other wealthy countries: about 22.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. According to UNICEF data, this is comparable to China and Iran.

Why is the maternal mortality rate so high in the United States? Maybe it's because of the way we fill out death certificates.

A study this year concluded that misreporting on death certificates could be driving up the numbers. The study's authors concluded that the U.S. maternal mortality rate is actually half the rate reported by the CDC — about 10.4 per 100,000 live births — which is consistent with countries like Canada and the United Kingdom.

But if death certificates can distort maternal mortality statistics so much, what other influence could they have? And how does our system for completing death certificates work?

To answer these questions, guest moderator Maggie Koerth is joined by Dr. Robert Anderson, director of the Statistical Analysis and Surveillance Division at the National Center for Health Statistics.

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