Spring often brings updates to current vital statistics information for maternal-infant care in the United States. This information is released from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, office of National Vital Statistics System. This provisional data includes 99.93% of all reported births in the United States in 2017. It is the most up to date information available.

I am highlighting some interesting information here. You can read all the details and take a deeper dive by visiting the NVSS website to look at the entire report. I find it interesting that many categories have had several years of decline and have now seemed to increase ever so slightly. Does a small uptiik in the cesarean rate mean this will continue? Why is the preterm birth rate up? I look forward to following up with the 2018 information to see if these trends continue.

Do any of these numbers or additional information in the current report surprise you? Let us know in the comment section.

References

Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Rossen LM. Births: Provisional data for 2017. Vital Statistics Rapid Release; no 4. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. May 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/report004.pdf.

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