Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


About N C H S graphic and link
InformaciĆ³n en EspaƱol
Fastats A-Z provides health statistics and links to additional sources of information
N C H S help graphic and link
Coming Events graphic and link
Surveys and Data Collection Systems graphic and link
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey graphic and link
National Health Care Survey graphic and link
National Health Interview Survey graphic and link
National Immunization Survey graphic and link
Longitudinal Studies of Aging (LSOAs)
National Survey of Family Growth graphic and link
State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey graphic and link
National Vital Statistics System graphic and link
Initiatives graphic and link
Aging Activities graphic and link
Disease Classification graphic and link
Healthy People graphic and link
Injury graphic and link
Research and Development graphic and link
Research Data Center
NCHS Press Room
News Releases graphic and link
Publications and Information Products graphic and link
Statistical Export and Tabulation System
Listserv graphic and link
Graphic and link to FEDSTATS and other sites
Download graphic
Adobe Acrobat Reader graphic and link
PowerPoint Viewer 2003 graphic and link
National Center for Health Statistics 3311 Toledo Road Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
Toll Free Data Inquiries 1-800-232-4636

 

 

 

 

 

CDC Home Search Health Topics A-Z
NCHS home page graphic and link
Publications and Information Products graphic
NCHS Home | Products Home | Conference Materials
Data Warehouse
| Electronic Announcements | Electronic Products
Journal Articles | Reports | Working Papers | Ordering Information
Training
Opportunities/Materials | CDC/NCHS Privacy Policy Notice Accessibility | Search NCHS |
Contact us

Natality Data, Public-Use Data Files

bullet graphicSurvey description
bullet graphicData file description
bullet graphicList of data file variables at a glance
bullet graphicData file technical characteristics
bullet graphicGeographic coverage
bullet graphicData availability
bullet graphicOrdering information
bullet graphicDocumentation contents
bullet graphicRelated reports
bullet graphicContacts
bullet graphicBirth data Web page
bullet graphicMortality data Web page

Survey description
The Natality public-use data file includes all births occurring within the United States. Births occurring to U.S. citizens outside the United States are not included.

Data are obtained from certificates filed for births occurring in each State.  Data were obtained from a 50-percent sample of certificates during 1968-71. Starting in 1972 all records were included for States that participated in the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program (VSCP).  The number of States participating in the VSCP increased from 6 in 1972 to 46 in 1984; beginning in 1985, all States and the District of Columbia participated.

Data file description
Three file formats are available for 1969-88. These are: Detail, State summary, and Local area summary.  The detailed file includes one record for each birth in the sample.  Data on the local area summary and the State summary files have been weighted and represent a total count of births. Birth certificate numbers are not included. NCHS does not distribute certificates, files, or indexes with identifying information for births.  Please refer to the section of the home page on How to obtain birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates.

Starting in 1989, the detailed file format is for a single calendar year and includes data for cities, counties, and metropolitan areas with a population of 100,000 or more.  Date of infant's birth and dates of birth of the mother and father and birth certificate numbers are excluded from this file. Beginning in 1994, the same detail is available on a separate file for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.

List of data file variables at a glance for the Detail (1968-88 and 1989-97), State summary, Local area summary files

Detail file (1968-88)1
Data year
Residence of mother:2
State3
County3
City (100,000 persons or more)4
indent graphicPopulation size
Standard metropolitan statistical area
3 Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Age of:
Father (1969-70: under 18 years of age single years
indent graphicage 18 and over; 1971-88: single years age 10
indent graphicand over)
Mother (single years, age 10-49)
Apgar scores, 1 and 5 minutes5
Attendant at birth6
Birth date (month/day)
Birth weight (in grams)
Education of mother and father (single years, 0-17)5
Gestation period5 (single weeks, 17-52):
indent graphicMonth/day/year of last menstrual period
Hispanic origin of mother and father5 (1982-88)
Interval in months:6
indent graphicSince last fetal death
indent graphicSince last live birth
indent graphicSince termination of last pregnancy
Marital status7
Month/year of:
indent graphicLast fetal death
indent graphicLast live birth
Nativity of mother (1970, 1971, 1973-88)
Place of birth (State3, county3)
Place of delivery
Plurality (1971-88)
Pregnancy history:
indent graphicBorn alive, now living
indent graphicBorn alive, now dead
indent graphicInterval since last live birth (in months)
indent graphicLive-birth order
indent graphicMonth/year of last live birth
indent graphicOther terminations
indent graphicOutcome of last pregnancy5
indent graphicTotal-birth order
Prenatal care:
indent graphicMonth of pregnancy care began8
indent graphicNumber of prenatal visits5 (1972-88)
Race of:
indent graphicChild (9 categories)
indent graphicFather (10 categories)
indent graphicMother (10 categories)
Sex of child
indent graphicRecord weight (1972-88)
Stub A variables
Residence of mother:2
indent graphicState3
indent graphicCounty3
indent graphicCity (10,000 persons or more)
indent graphicStandard metropolitan statistical area3
indent graphicMetropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Race of child (3 categories)
Sex of child
Age of mother (under 15 years of age; single years,
indent graphicages 15-19; 5-year age groups, ages 20-49 years)
Education of mother7 (5 categories)
Place of delivery
Attendant at birth10
Spread A variables
Age of mother (5-year groups)
Live-birth order (single order, 1 to 8 and over)
Stub B variables
Residence of mother:2
indent graphicState3
indent graphicCounty3
indent graphicCity (10,000 persons or more)
indent graphicStandard metropolitan statistical area3
indent graphicMetropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Race of child (3 categories)
Sex of child
Spread B variables
Birth weight (500-gram groups)
Attendant at birth and place of delivery11

State summary file (1968-88)9
Stub A and B variables
State of residence3
Race of child (9 categories)
Plurality (1971-88)
Sex of child
Live-birth order (single order 1 to 8 and over)
Age of mother (under 15 years of age; single years, ages 15-49)
Spread A variables
Birth weight (500-gram groups)
Total birth order (single order 1 to 8 and over)
Spread B variable
Month of birth
Stub C variable
State of birth
Spread C variables
Month of birth
Resident status
____________________________________________________
1All data items in the detail file are in EBCDIC code. The stub
  portion of all summary records consists of EBCDIC codes, and
  the spread portion consists of a series of full word binary fields
  containing numbers of births
.
2Beginning in 1970, the place of residence for mothers who were
  nonresidents of the United States has been coded to the
  country of residence. Formerly, these births were considered
  resident births of the place of occurrence. The local area
  summary excludes data for nonresidents of the United States.
3FIPS codes as well as NCHS codes beginning in 1982.
4Before 1979 population size was 250,000 or more.
5Applicable only for those States having information on the
  certificate.
6For 1969-74, applies to out-of-hospital births only.
7For 1969-79, applicable only for those States having
  information on the certificate. Beginning in 1980, data for States without
  the item have been inferred from other sources on the
  certificate.
8For 1969-79, applicable only for those States having
  information on the certificate; beginning with 1980, all States have the
  information.
9Variables within a given stub may be cross-tabulated with one
  another and must be cross-tabulated with at least one stub
  variable; variables within a given spread may not be
  cross-tabulated with one another.
10For 1969-74, applies to out-of-hospital births only.
11Attendant for out-of-hospital births only.

Detail files (1989-97)
Data year
Residence of mother:
1
State2
County2,3
City3
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area2,3
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Abnormal conditions of the newborn4
Age of:
Father (single years, 10 and over)
Mother (single years, 10-49)
Apgar scores, 1 and 5 minutes4
Alcohol use4
Attendant at birth
Birth weight (in grams)
Complications of labor or delivery4
Congenital anomalies4
Day of week of birth
Education of mother and father4 (single years, 0-17)
Gestation period (single weeks, 17-47)
Hispanic origin of mother and father4
Marital status5
Medical risk factors4
Method of delivery4
Nativity of mother
Obstetric procedures4
Place of birth (State,2 county2,3)
Place of delivery
Plurality
Pregnancy history:
Born alive, now living
Born alive, now dead
Interval since last live birth (in months)
Live-birth order
Month/year of last live birth
Other terminations
Total-birth order
Prenatal care:
Adequacy of care (Kessner Index)
Month of pregnancy care began
Number of prenatal visits
Race of:
Child (9 categories)
Father (10 categories)
Mother (9 categories)
Sex of child
Tobacco use4
Weight gain during pregnancy4 (single pounds, 0-99)
__________________________________________________

1
The place of residence for mothers who were nonresidents of
    the United States has been coded to the country of residence.
2Includes FIPS codes as well as NCHS codes.
3Includes data for areas with a population of 100,000 persons or
    more.
4Applicable only for those States having information on the
    certificate.
5Data for States without the item have been inferred from other
    items on the certificate.

Data file technical characteristics
The following list describes the specific characteristics of each file (Detail, Local area summary, and State summary) for each data year. The CD-ROM format comes with Statistical Export and Tabulation System (SETS) retrieval software. Beginning in 1994, the natality data for Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are provided as separate data sets on the file.

Detail file

Data year Number of
records
1996 3,894,874
1995 3,899,589
1994 3,952,767
1993 4,000,240
1992 4,065,014
1991 4,115,342
1990 4,162,917
1989 4,045,693
1988 3,913,793
1987 3,813,216
1986 3,760,695
1985 3,765,064
1984 3,360,871
1983 3,337,883
1982 3,376,813
1981 3,319,054
1980 3,310,301
1979 3,184,421
1978 2,865,686
1977 2,772,206
1976 2,463,852
1975 2,232,406
1974 2,029,150
1973 1,839,736
1972 1,749,402
1971 1,781,774
1970 1,868,900
1969 1,800,103
1968 1,750,782

Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Guam data sets

Data year Number of
records
1996 63,255
1995 69,868
1994 71,212

Local area summary

Data year Number of
records
1988 575,874
1987 571,701
1986 565,279
1985 566,484
1984 550,432
1983 550,704
1982 554,359
1981 534,196
1980 531,673
1979 519,107
1978 516,764
1977 529,813
1976 508,984
1975 478,227
1974 392,093
1973 372,865
1972 357,209
1971 354,431
1970 359,427
1969 335,499
1968 45,992

State summary

Data year

Number of
records

1988 172,972
1987 168,003
1986 166,061
1985 164,669
1984 157,127
1983 155,672
1982 155,127
1981 152,761
1980 151,285
1979 146,431
1978 140,201
1977 135,997
1976 131,897
1975 127,455
1974 124,117
1973 118,581
1972 121,065
1971 121,115
1970 115,007
1969 118,891
1968 112,692

Geographic coverage
Place of birth is classified by State and county.  In residence classification, all births are allocated to the usual place of residence of the mother as reported on the birth certificate and are classified by State, county, and city.

For data years 1968-78, cities of 250,000 persons or more are classified. Beginning with 1979, cities of 100,000 persons or more are classified.

Geographic classification is as follows:

Data year Census
enumeration
1994-97 1990
1982-93 1980
1970-81 1970
1968-69 1960

Data availability
Natality data are collected annually.  Data in ASCII format are available on CD-ROM from 1991-95.  Beginning 1996, data released on CD-ROM contain the SETS  Interface.  ASCII data on CD-ROM are available for the following file types:

File type

Availability
Detail 1968-97
Local area summary 1968-88
State-summary 1968-88

Customized data 
Requests from researchers whose data needs cannot be met by the detailed files should be made in writing and mailed to

Director, Division of Vital Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 7318
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782

All requests for additional data should include a list of the specific data items that are needed and an explanation of how the data will be used.  The Director will make a determination on the request and release data as applicable.  However, recipients must agree to additional restrictions to avoid possible inadvertent disclosure of confidential information.  Unless the requester is from a Federal agency, the requester will most likely be referred to the NCHS Research Data Center.

Ordering information
The Natality, Detail, Local area summary, and State summary data in ASCII format can only be purchased through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The SETS CD-ROMs can be purchased from NTIS and/or the Government Printing Office (GPO). Check for availability and, as prices vary, please check with NTIS or GPO for the most current prices. 

Documentation contents
Documentation is available electronically on the CD-ROM. Control total tables are also included. The 1995 data documentation is available on the CDC/FTP server.

Related reports
Reports that relate to the data are available in Vital and Health Statistics, Series 21; Supplements to the Monthly Vital Statistics Report; National Vital Statistics Report, and Vital Statistics of the United States, Volume I, Natality.

Contact
Reproductive Statistics Branch
Division of Vital Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3311 Toledo Road, Floor 7318
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
(301) 458-4111
births@cdc.gov

 

NCHS Home | Products Home | Conference Materials
Data Warehouse
| Electronic Announcements
Electronic Products
| Journal Articles | Reports | Working Papers
 Ordering Information | Training Opportunities/Materials
CDC/NCHS Privacy Policy Notice
| Accessibility | Search NCHS | Contact us


CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

This page last reviewed January 11, 2007

H H S Health and Human Services logo and link
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics
Hyattsville, MD
20782

1-800-232-4636