When it comes to women dying in or after childbirth Georgia leads the nation, according to a report by Amnesty International.
On Tuesday, state officials began trying to understand why.
Using death certificates, a new maternal mortality review committee identified 85 women in 2012 who died within one year of giving birth. Of those, 25 deaths were directly related to the pregnancy. The leading cause of death in that group was hemorrhage followed closely by hypertension, cardiac disorders and embolism.
Sixty more mothers died within a year of giving birth, but the cause appeared unrelated to the pregnancy. The committee found that the leading causes of death were motor vehicle accidents, homicide and suicide.
To read more go the AJC's watchdog blog: http://investigations.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/09/why-are-new-georgia-mothers-dying/
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