Demographics

Pregnant women and new mothers died in sharply increasing numbers during the pandemic, and not just because of a rise in medical complications that may accompany pregnancy and childbirth. An even greater toll was exacted by other causes, like drug overdoses, homicides and car accidents, according to a study published on Friday.

“It is really heartbreaking to see,” said Jeffrey T. Howard, an associate professor of public health at the University of Texas at San Antonio and lead author of the paper, which was published in JAMA Network Open.