"A "pervasive problem" is the rapidly increasing rate of "severe maternal morbidity" (SMM), which does not yet have a "single, comprehensive definition".According to a report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1993 the rate of Severe Maternal Morbidity, rose from 49.5 to 144 "per 10,000 delivery hospitalizations" in 2014, an increase of almost 200 percent.