fear. reporter: ky lindberg is an advocate for maternal and infant health. what do those numbers say to you? i think that it has contributed to a lot of things. medical coverage. even access to care, like prenatal care. here in georgia, as an example, there s counties that don t even have a labor and delivery unit, and ob. i mean, that s unconscionable. reporter: one thing that could help is having a doula, someone who guides women through the complexities of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. martin, a doula herself, has one for her own delivery next month. i think the biggest thing that a doula can do for you is empower you. it s like calling your best friend. that s what we need. we need to know that we are being uplifted and taken seriously. speed to the states with the highest maternal mortality rates tend to be in the south, like here in georgia, and the author of that cdc report told us
tonight, and allowing the report from the cdc shows the number of american women who died while giving birth or shortly afterwards spiked dramatically during the covid pandemic, with women of color being the most impacted. there were more than 1200 maternal deaths in 2021. that is up 60% since 2019, at the u.s. maternal mortality rate come along the highest of any wealthy country, is now at its highest point since 1965. what s happening? here cbs s caitlin huey-burns. praise the lord. reporter: 23-year-old celena martin was thrilled when she found out she was pregnant, but she was also concerned about getting the kind of care she needed. one of my biggest anxieties was if i have to go to the hospital, like, i may not make it. reporter: the stakes for pregnant women like martin are high. mortality rates among black women are nearly three times higher compared to white women, a sharp increase from previous years. there is certain levels of