The rate of women dying from pregnancy or childbirth has dropped to pre-pandemic levels, as mental health issues become the leading cause of deaths and Black mothers continue to die at higher rates than others, according to a highly anticipated report from Texas' maternal mortality committee released Friday.

The biennial report, which state officials were supposed to release Sept. 1 but delayed until after the midterm elections, offers the first comprehensive look at maternal mortality rates since the state banned nearly all abortions in 2021.

The most recent report studies deaths that occurred in 2021 and in 2024, skipping 2022 and 2023 reviews of individual cases.