A pregnancy-related death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within one year of the end of a pregnancy. More than half the pregnancy-related deaths happen after childbirth.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of reported pregnancy-related deaths in the United States in 2014 was 18 deaths per 100,000 live births. That's up from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987. Research also shows racial disparities. From 2011 to 2014, the pregnancy-related mortality ratios for black women were more than three times higher than for white women.

After childbirth, it's common to experience fatigue and discomfort, such as perineal pain and uterine contractions. You might not know the difference between a normal recovery and the symptoms of a complication — or when to seek medical care. If you give birth in a hospital, your health care team might not identify risk factors for serious postpartum complications before you are discharged.

Mothers also often don't see a health care provider until four to six weeks after childbirth, and as many as 40 percent don't attend a postpartum visit, likely due to limited resources. As a result, most receive little guidance on their postpartum recovery.

A blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in the lungs often caused by blood clots that travel to the lungs from the legs (thrombotic pulmonary embolism)

Excessive bleeding after giving birth (hemorrhage).

Infection or sepsis fom vaginal or c-secton births.

Anxiety

Depression

Psychosis

Post partum OCD