Higher
Order Multiple Births Drop for First Time in a Decade
For Release
Tuesday, April 17, 2001
Contact: NCHS Press Office
(301) 458-4800
CDC Office of Media Relations (404) 639-3286
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov
Births: Final Data
for 1999. Vol. 49, No. 1. 99 pp. (PHS) 2001-1120.
View/download PDF
6.11 MB
Triplet and other
higher order multiple births (triplet/+) declined in 1999 for the first
time in a decade after more than doubling between 1990 and 1998, according
to the latest natality statistics released in a report today by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The new report,
"Births: Final Data for 1999," shows that 7,321 triplet/+ babies
were born in 1999, down from 7,625 in 1998. The triplet/+ birth rate
declined 4 percent, from 194 to 185 per 100,000 live births. In
comparison, in 1990, there were 3,028 triplet/+ births and the rate was 73
per 100,000. An estimated two-thirds of triplet/+ births are the result of
fertility-enhancing therapies.
"There’s been a
lot of concern about some of the serious consequences associated with the
enormous rise in higher order multiple births over the past decade,"
said CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan. "Most of these babies are born
premature and of low birthweight, which puts them at risk for a variety of
health threats, including infant death and severe life-long
disabilities."
While triplet/+ births
are down in the U.S., twin births continued to rise, from 110,670 in 1998
to 114,307 in 1999. The rate of twin births was also up 3 percent, from
28.1 per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 28.9 in 1999. This rate has risen
more than 25 percent since 1990.
Some of the other
findings in the report include:
The
birth rate for teenagers aged 15-19 years declined 3 percent to 49.6
births per 1,000 teenaged women. This rate has fallen 20 percent since
1991 and is now at a record low.
Birth
rates for women in their thirties increased 2 to 3 percent between 1998
and 1999, and are at their highest level in more than three decades. The
birth rate for women aged 40-44 years also increased in 1999.
The
median age for first-time mothers increased to 24.5 years, continuing a
slow but steady pattern that has occurred since 1972.
The
birth rate for unmarried women increased slightly to 44.4 births per 1,000
unmarried women aged 15-44 years. One out of every three births in the U.S. were
to unmarried women.
Total
births in the U.S. increased to 3,959,417 in 1999, up less than 1 percent
from 1998.
Cigarette
smoking during pregnancy declined in 1999, and the overall rate has fallen
steadily since 1989. However, tobacco use by pregnant teens continued to
increase in 1999, and the rates for women aged 20-24 years rose for the first
time in a decade. Over 12 percent of births to smokers were low
birthweight babies, compared with 7.2 percent of births to nonsmokers.
More
pregnant women are getting timely prenatal care (83.2 percent in 1999
compared with 82.8 percent in 1998) while the percent of women with late or
no care has fallen to 3.8 percent, down from 6.1 in 1990.
After
falling steadily from 1989 to 1996, the rate of cesarean delivery
increased again in 1999, up 4 percent from 1998. Twenty-two percent of all
births were cesarean deliveries in 1999. The rate of vaginal birth after
previous cesarean delivery declined 11 percent between 1998 and 1999.
Nearly
12 percent of all births were delivered preterm (less than 37 completed
weeks of gestation). The percent of births born preterm has risen 11
percent since 1990.
The
percent of babies born low birthweight remained unchanged between 1998 and
1999, at 7.6 percent, but has risen 9 percent since 1990.
"The data from
this report serve as important pieces to the overall puzzle of maternal
and infant health in this country," said Dr. Edward Sondik, director
of CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, which prepared the
report. "We’ve seen the continuation of several very positive
trends, some not very positive trends, and a few surprises, such as the
drop in triplet and higher-order multiple births."
The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protects people's health and safety
by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health
decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and
promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national
and international organizations.
# # #
This page last reviewed
October 06, 2006
|