that the lifetime risk of maternal deaths is greater in the United States than in 40 other countries , including virtually all industrialized nations . The report also noted that severe pregnancy-related complications that nearly cause death -- known as `` near misses '' -- have increased by 25 percent since 1998 . Up to 40 percent of near misses are considered preventable with better quality of care , according to a 2007 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology . Minorities , women living in poverty , Native Americans , immigrants and those who speak little or no English are particularly affected , Amnesty International said . `` The thing that really struck us was that these problems hit women of color , low-income , particularly hard , '' said Nan Strauss , researcher and co-author of the Amnesty report . `` But every woman who is going through pregnancy in this country is at risk . '' Figures compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta , Georgia , show that black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than their white counterparts . White women have a
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Deaths from pregnancy and childbirth in the United States have doubled in the past 20 years , a development that a human rights group called `` scandalous and disgraceful '' Friday . In addition , the rights group said , about 1.7 million women a year , one-third of pregnant women in the United States , suffer from pregnancy-related complications . Most of the deaths and complications occur among minorities and women living in poverty , it noted . Amnesty International issued a report Friday that calls on President Obama to take action . `` This country 's extraordinary record of medical advancement makes its haphazard approach to maternal care all the more scandalous and disgraceful , '' said Larry Cox , executive director of Amnesty International USA . `` Good maternal care should not be considered a luxury available only to those who can access the best hospitals and the best doctors . Women should not die in the richest country on earth from preventable complications and emergencies , '' Cox said in a news release . The report , `` Deadly Delivery : The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA , '' notes