Maternal and Child Health

Importance and Measures

Mortality
Number of maternal deaths (2003).......................................................................................	35718
Number of infant deaths (2003)............................................................................................	28,4282
Demographics
Number of children under 18 (2004)...................................................................................	73,277,99819
Number of babies born in United States (2003)...................................................................	4,091,06320
Cost
Total cost of health care for children (2002)........................................................................	$79 billion21

Measures

The NHQR tracks several prevention and treatment measures related to maternal and child health care throughout the report. The core report measures highlighted in this section are:

• Receipt of prenatal care in the first trimester
• Receipt of all recommended immunizations by young children
• Receipt of hepatitis B vaccine by adolescents
• Dental visits by children
• Receipt of counseling about physical activity by children
• Hospital admissions for pediatric gastroenteritis

In addition, a supplemental measure is also presented:

• Untreated dental caries in children

Return to Contents