New
Birth Report Shows More Moms Get Prenatal Care
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Contact: NCHS Press Office
(301) 458-4800
CDC Office of Media Relations (404) 639-3286
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov
Births: Final Data for
2001. NVSR Volume 51, No. 2. 103 pp. (PHS) 2003-1120. View/download PDF
6.2 MB
A new
HHS report released today shows a significant increase in the number of
women receiving prenatal care – especially among Hispanic and
non-Hispanic black women.
The
report shows that 83 percent of women received timely (in the first
trimester) prenatal care in 2001, up from 76 percent in 1990.
In addition, only 1 percent of women did not receive any prenatal care in
2001. During this time period, timely prenatal care increased among
all race and ethnic groups, but was particularly evident among Hispanic
and non-Hispanic black women.
“We’re
continuing to make excellent progress in our efforts to have more women,
particularly minority women, receive early prenatal care,” HHS Secretary
Tommy G. Thompson said. “Timely prenatal care is one of the best
ways to ensure the health of mothers and their infants, and we will
continue working to expand access to this essential care for all
Americans.”
The
report, “Births: Final Data for 2001,” prepared by HHS’ Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that the percentage of
Hispanic women who did not receive any prenatal care fell from 4.0 percent
to 1.6 percent between 1990 and 2001, and the percentage of non-Hispanic
black women who did not receive any prenatal care fell from 4.7 percent to
2.3 percent during the same time period.
“Good
prenatal care protects a woman’s health not only during pregnancy but
encourages good health habits—such as not smoking—which have life-long
health benefits,” CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said.
The
report, based on birth certificates filed in State vital statistics
offices and reported to CDC, tracks many other important indicators of
maternal and infant health and contains other positive findings.
Cigarette smoking during pregnancy continued to decline, to 12 percent in
2001, compared with 20 percent in 1989, when smoking was first reported on
the birth certificate.
The
teen birth rate declined for the 10th consecutive year in 2001, as first
reported in preliminary data released earlier this year. Over the past
decade, the decline was particularly significant for young teens, those
15-17 years of age, with the birth rate down by more than a third.
For young black teens, the birth rate declined by nearly half.
The
report also found that the percentage of infants born prematurely (at less
than 37 completed weeks of gestation) rose to nearly 12 percent (11.9),
its highest level in at least two decades. The rate of low birth
weight climbed to 7.7 percent in 2001, up 13 percent from the mid-1980s.
Some of the increase in low birth weight and preterm birth can be
attributed to the rise in multiple births experienced over the past
decade. Changes in obstetrical practice, such as greater reliance on
induced labor and other efforts to safely manage delivery, may also be
playing a role.
Other
significant findings from the report include:
There
were 4,025,933 babies born in 2001, 1 percent fewer than the year before.
The birth rate declined from 14.7 to 14.5 births per 1,000 population from
2000 to 2001.
The
twin birth rate rose in 2001. For the first time, twin births
exceeded 3 percent of all births in the United States. Births to
triplet and other higher-order multiple births rose 3 percent between 2000
and 2001.
Births
to unmarried women accounted for 33.5 percent of all births in 2001.
This percent has been inching up over time as married women are having
fewer children and the number of unmarried women grows. The number
of births to unmarried mothers increased to a record high of more than 1.3
million in 2001, although the birth rate among unmarried women of
childbearing age (15-44) actually declined slightly between 2000 and 2001,
from 45.2 per 1,000 in 2000 to 45.0 in 2001.
The
proportion of births with induced labor has more than doubled since 1989.
More than one in five births were induced in 2001.
Cesarean
deliveries increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2001 to the highest
level reported since at least 1989. The primary cesearean rate
jumped 5 percent and the rate of vaginal birth after previous cesarean
delivery fell 20 percent.
The
report, “Births: Final Data for 2001,” can be found on CDC’s
National Center for Health Statistics Web site at CDC/NCHS
Web site.