A new national report shows that Louisiana had the highest maternal mortality rate in the country in 2023, with health care workers in New Orleans witnessing many of the challenges behind the numbers firsthand.
According to a 2025 analysis from The Commonwealth Fund, Louisiana recorded 41.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births—more than double the national average of 18.6. Maternal deaths include fatalities during pregnancy, childbirth and up to one year postpartum.
New Orleans providers say the data reflects what they’re seeing every day: rising complications in high-risk pregnancies, longer waits for specialty care, and confusion over what emergency treatments are allowed under Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban. A report from Lift Louisiana, Physicians for Human Rights, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Reproductive Health Impact warns that these laws are disrupting standard pregnancy care across the state.
Louisiana enacted one of the strictest abortion bans in the country after the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. The ban includes no exceptions for rape or incest and allows abortion only when a pregnant patient faces a life-threatening emergency. The Commonwealth report notes that states with bans—Louisiana among them—experienced higher maternal mortality due to delays in care and riskier procedures, as doctors hesitate or seek multiple legal clearances before treating complicated pregnancies.
New Orleans has also been affected by broader statewide issues, including hospital closures, shortages of maternity providers, and chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes that raise the risk of pregnancy-related complications. For many residents in the city, especially low-income neighborhoods, accessing consistent prenatal and postpartum care remains a challenge.
The Commonwealth Fund report warns that without expanded reproductive health access, improved prenatal services and stronger postpartum support, maternal outcomes in states like Louisiana may continue to decline. Nationally, the U.S. still ranks far behind other high-income nations in maternal safety.
Local public health officials have not yet issued a formal response to the findings, but New Orleans-area clinics say they expect maternal health needs to keep growing as reproductive care becomes increasingly restricted statewide.
