In 2023, non-Hispanic Black women had the highest rates of maternal mortality among select races/ethnicities in the United States, with 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. The total maternal mortality rate in the U.S. at that time was 18.6 per 100,000 live births, a decrease from a rate of almost 33 in 2021. This statistic presents the maternal mortality rates in the United States from 2018 to 2023, by race and ethnicity.

Maternal mortality rates can vary significantly around the world. For example, in 2022, Estonia had a maternal mortality rate of zero per 100,000 live births, while Mexico reported a rate of 38 deaths per 100,000 live births. However, the regions with the highest number of maternal deaths are Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, with differences between countries and regions often reflecting inequalities in health care services and access. Most causes of maternal mortality are preventable and treatable with the most common causes including severe bleeding, infections, complications during delivery, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and unsafe abortion. Maternal mortality in the United States In 2022, there were a total of 817 maternal deaths in the United States. Women aged 25 to 39 years accounted for 578 of these deaths, however, rates of maternal mortality are much higher among women aged 40 years and older. In 2022, the rate of maternal mortality among women aged 40 years and older in the U.S. was 87 per 100,000 live births, compared to a rate of 21 among women aged 25 to 39 years. The rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. has risen in recent years among all age groups. Differences in maternal mortality in the U.S. by race/ethnicity Sadly, there are great disparities in maternal mortality in the United States among different races and ethnicities. In 2022, the rate of maternal mortality among non-Hispanic white women was about 19 per 100,000 live births, while non-Hispanic Black women died from maternal causes at a rate of almost 50 per 100,000 live births. Rates of maternal mortality have risen for white and Hispanic women in recent years, but Black women have by far seen the largest increase in maternal mortality. In 2022, around 253 Black women died from maternal causes in the United States.

Infant mortality rates in the United States reveal significant disparities among racial and ethnic groups. In 2023, Black mothers faced the highest rate at nearly 11 deaths per 1,000 live births, more than double the rate for white mothers. This stark contrast persists despite overall improvements in healthcare and highlights the need for targeted interventions to address these inequalities. Birth rates and fertility trends While infant mortality rates vary, birth rates also differ across ethnicities. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women had the highest fertility rate in 2022, with about 2,237.5 births per 1,000 women, far exceeding the national average of 1,656.5. In 2023, this group maintained the highest birth rate at 79 births per 1,000 women. Asian women, by contrast, had a much lower birth rate of around 50 per thousand women. These differences in fertility rates can impact overall population growth and demographic shifts within the United States. Hispanic birth trends and fertility decline The Hispanic population in the United States has experienced significant changes in birth trends over recent decades. In 2021, 885,916 babies were born to Hispanic mothers, with a birth rate of 14.1 per 1,000 of the Hispanic population. This represents a slight increase from the previous year. However, the fertility rate among Hispanic women has declined dramatically since 1990, dropping from 108 children per 1,000 women aged 15-44 to 63.4 in 2021. This decline aligns with broader trends of decreasing fertility rates in more industrialized nations.

This data presents national-level provisional maternal mortality rates based on a current flow of mortality and natality data in the National Vital Statistics System. Provisional rates which are an early estimate of the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, are shown as of the date specified and may not include all deaths and births that occurred during a given time period (see Technical Notes). A maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes. In this data visualization, maternal deaths are those deaths with an underlying cause of death assigned to International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) code numbers A34, O00–O95, and O98–O99. The provisional data include reported 12 month-ending provisional maternal mortality rates overall, by age, and by race and Hispanic origin. Provisional maternal mortality rates presented in this data visualization are for “12-month ending periods,” defined as the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated. For example, the 12-month ending period in June 2020 would include deaths and births occurring from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020. Evaluation of trends over time should compare estimates from year to year (June 2020 and June 2021), rather than month to month, to avoid overlapping time periods. In the visualization and in the accompanying data file, rates based on death counts less than 20 are suppressed in accordance with current NCHS standards of reliability for rates. Death counts between 1-9 in the data file are suppressed in accordance with National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) confidentiality standards. Provisional data presented on this page will be updated on a quarterly basis as additional records are received. Previously released estimates are revised to include data and record updates received since the previous release. As a result, the reliability of estimates for a 12-month period ending with a specific month will improve with each quarterly release and estimates for previous time periods may change as new data and updates are received.

Maternal mortality ratio is defined as the number of female deaths due to obstetric causes (ICD-10 codes: A34, O00-O95, O98-O99) while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. The maternal mortality ratio indicates the likelihood of a pregnant person dying of obstetric causes. It is calculated by dividing the number of deaths among birthing people attributable to obstetric causes in a calendar year by the number of live births registered for the same period and is presented as a rate per 100,000 live births. The number of live births used in the denominator approximates the population of pregnant and birthing people who are at risk. Data are not presented for geographies with number of maternal deaths less than 11.Compared to other high-income countries, women in the US are more likely to die from childbirth or problems related to pregnancy. In addition, there are persistent disparities by race and ethnicity, with Black pregnant persons experiencing a much higher rate of maternal mortality compared to White pregnant persons. Improving the quality of medical care for pregnant individuals before, during, and after pregnancy can help reduce maternal deaths.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

The number of maternal deaths and maternal mortality rates for selected causes, 2000 to most recent year.

From 2019 to 2021, there were over 11 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among non-Hispanic Black women who were obese before pregnancy in the United States. This statistic illustrates the rate of infant mortality in the United States from 2019 to 2021, by maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and race/ethnicity.

Abstract Objectives: to describe profile and spatial distribution on maternal mortality in a city in the North of Minas Gerais-Brazil. Methods: a descriptive, cross-sectional, documentary and quantitative study was carried out in 31 (100%) Fichas de Investigação de Óbito Materno do Comitê de Mortalidade Materna (Maternal Mortality Investigation Data Forms from the Maternal Mortality Committee) from 2009 to 2013. Results: prevalence is observed in women between 20 and 34 years old, mixed race, single and with low schooling. Of the deaths classified, 48.2% are direct obstetric death and 74.2% would be likely avoidable. The most prevalent causes of death were pregnancy-specific hypertensive disease; circulatory system disease; neoplasms; coagulopathies and post-abortion infection. In relation to prenatal care, only 20 women performed it, and most performed less than six prenatal consultations and in relation to the end of gestation, 68.1% underwent cesarean childbirth. Regarding to the descriptive spatial analysis, we identified a higher occurrence of maternal deaths in the areas of medium and high social vulnerability. Conclusions: maternal mortality is a strong indicator of women's healthcare, there is a necessity to readjust women’s healthcare in the puerperal pregnancy cycle. New healthcare practices for women are needed, due to the referred bond and responsible care.

Non-Hispanic Black women had the highest rate of infant mortality in the U.S. in 2022. In that year, there were almost 11 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among Black women. Leading causes of infant mortality in the U.S. include congenital malformations, disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, maternal complications, and sudden infant death syndrome.

This is a source dataset for a Let's Get Healthy California indicator at https://letsgethealthy.ca.gov/. Infant Mortality is defined as the number of deaths in infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality is often used as an indicator to measure the health and well-being of a community, because factors affecting the health of entire populations can also impact the mortality rate of infants. Although California’s infant mortality rate is better than the national average, there are significant disparities, with African American babies dying at more than twice the rate of other groups. Data are from the Birth Cohort Files. The infant mortality indicator computed from the birth cohort file comprises birth certificate information on all births that occur in a calendar year (denominator) plus death certificate information linked to the birth certificate for those infants who were born in that year but subsequently died within 12 months of birth (numerator). Studies of infant mortality that are based on information from death certificates alone have been found to underestimate infant death rates for infants of all race/ethnic groups and especially for certain race/ethnic groups, due to problems such as confusion about event registration requirements, incomplete data, and transfers of newborns from one facility to another for medical care. Note there is a separate data table "Infant Mortality by Race/Ethnicity" which is based on death records only, which is more timely but less accurate than the Birth Cohort File. Single year shown to provide state-level data and county totals for the most recent year. Numerator: Infants deaths (under age 1 year). Denominator: Live births occurring to California state residents. Multiple years aggregated to allow for stratification at the county level. For this indicator, race/ethnicity is based on the birth certificate information, which records the race/ethnicity of the mother. The mother can “decline to state”; this is considered to be a valid response. These responses are not displayed on the indicator visualization.

Infant mortality rate by mother's race and ethnicity, New Jersey residents, 2000 to most currently available data year. Infant mortality rate is the rate of death occurring under 1 year of age in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year.

In both 2021 and 2022, the children of Black mothers in the United States had the highest infant mortality rate, at almost 11 deaths per 1,000 live births. This statistic shows the infant mortality rate in the United States in 2021 and 2022 by the race and ethnicity of the mother.

Abstract Purpose To identify the prevalence of maternal morbidity and its socioeconomic, demographic and health care associated factors in a city in Northeastern Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional and population-based study was conducted, with a design based on multi-stage complex sampling. A validated questionnaire was applied to 848 women aged between 15 and 49 years identified in 8,227 households from 60 census tracts of Natal, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Brazil. The main outcome measure was maternal morbidity. The Poisson regression analysis, with 5% significance, was used for the analysis of the associated factors. Results The prevalence of maternal morbidity was of 21.2%. A bivariate analysis showed the following variables associated with an increased number of obstetric complications: non-white race (prevalence ratio [PR] =1.23; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.04-1.46); lower socioeconomic status (PR = 1.33; 95%CI: 1.12-1.58); prenatal care performed in public services (PR = 1.42; 95%CI: 1.16-1.72): women that were not advised during prenatal care about where they should deliver (PR = 1.24; 95%CI: 1.05-1.46); delivery in public services (PR = 1.63; 95%CI: 1.30-2.03); need to search for more than one hospital for delivery (PR = 1.22; 95%CI: 1.03-1.45); and no companion at all times of delivery care (PR = 1.25, 95%CI: 1.05-1.48). The place where the delivery occurred (public or private) and the socioeconomic status remained significant in the final model. Conclusion Women in a worse socioeconomic situation and whose delivery was performed in public services had a higher prevalence of maternal morbidity. Such an association reinforces the need to strengthen public policies to tackle health inequalities through actions focusing on these determinants.

The Mortality - Infant Deaths (from Linked Birth / Infant Death Records) online databases on CDC WONDER provide counts and rates for deaths of children under 1 year of age, occuring within the United States to U.S. residents. Information from death certificates has been linked to corresponding birth certificates. Data are available by county of mother's residence, child's age, underlying cause of death, sex, birth weight, birth plurality, birth order, gestational age at birth, period of prenatal care, maternal race and ethnicity, maternal age, maternal education and marital status. Data are available since 1995. The data are produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.

PurposeMental health conditions are the leading cause of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, yet few investigations have examined perinatal bipolar disorders. This study sought to examine racial differences in the odds of having a bipolar disorder diagnosis in perinatal women across self-reported racial groups in a large sample in California, USA.MethodThis cross-sectional study uses data from 3,831,593 women who had singleton live births in California, USA from 2011 to 2019 existing in a linked dataset which included hospital discharge records and birth certificates. International Classification of Diseases codes were used to identify women with a bipolar disorder diagnosis code on the hospital discharge record. Medical charts and birth certificate data was used to extract information on clinical and demographic covariate characteristics. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of having a bipolar disorder diagnosis across different self-reported racial groups.ResultsWe identified 19,262 women with bipolar disorder diagnoses. Differences in the presence of a bipolar disorder diagnosis emerged by self-reported race. In the fully adjusted model, Multiracial (selection of two races self-reported) women, compared to single-race White women had the highest odds of having a bipolar disorder diagnosis. Further examination of the all-inclusive Multiracial category revealed differences across subgroups where White/Black, White/American Indian Alaskan Native, and Black/American Indian Alaskan Native women had increased odds for bipolar disorder compared to single race White women.ConclusionsDifferences in bipolar disorder diagnoses exist across racial categories and when compared to White women, Multiracial women had the highest odds of bipolar disorder and thus represent a perinatal population of focus for future intervention studies. The increased burden of mental health problems among Multiracial women is consistent with recent research that employs disaggregated race data. More studies of Multiracial women are needed to determine how self-reported racial categories are related to increased risk for perinatal bipolar disorder.

Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk for adverse maternal and pregnancy outcomes, and birth complications. Given the health outcome disparities among pregnant women of racial and ethnic minorities and the reliance of medical practice on systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs)—as they are the apical component in the hierarchy of evidence in medical research—the primary objective of the study is to examine the inclusion of the equity reporting in SRMAs focused on pregnancy outcomes and COVID-19 using PROGRESS-Plus equity framework. PROGRESS represents equity measures of Place, Race, Occupation, Gender, Religion, Education, Social capital, and Socio-economic status. We conducted a systematic search of three databases to identify SRMAs related to maternal and pregnancy outcomes related to COVID-19. We extracted whether SRMAs reported or analyzed PROGRESS-Plus components among other study characteristics. Nearly 85% of SRMAs did not include any equity items to account for racial or geographic disparities. Reporting of race was absent from 95% of the studies. Place was the most common PROGRESS item and maternal age was the most common PROGRESS-Plus item reported overall. When research is performed and reported in a way that fails to address disparities, the downstream repercussions may include medical care in the form of new protocol-driven hospital management, pharmacologic interventions, and other treatment options that mirror this absence in reporting. The absence of adequate reporting widens gaps in health outcomes among at-risk groups, such as pregnant women of racial and ethnic minorities.

In 2020 and 2021, the perinatal mortality rate in the United States was around two times higher for non-Hispanic Black women compared to non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women. This graph shows the perinatal mortality rates in 2020 and 2021 in the United States, by race/ethnicity of the mother.

Abstract

The 1997 the Kyrgyz Republic Demographic and Health Survey (KRDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 3,848 women age 15-49. Fieldwork was conducted from August to November 1997. The KRDHS was sponsored by the Ministry of Health (MOH), and was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. The Research Institute of Obstetrics and Pediatrics implemented the survey with technical assistance from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program.

The purpose of the KRDHS was to provide data to the MOH on factors which determine the health status of women and children such as fertility, contraception, induced abortion, maternal care, infant mortality, nutritional status, and anemia.

Some statistics presented in this report are currently available to the MOH from other sources. For example, the MOH collects and regularly publishes information on fertility, contraception, induced abortion and infant mortality. However, the survey presents information on these indices in a manner which is not currently available, i.e., by population subgroups such as those defined by age, marital duration, education, and ethnicity. Additionally, the survey provides statistics on some issues not previously available in the Kyrgyz Republic: for example, breastfeeding practices and anemia status of women and children. When considered together, existing MOH data and the KRDHS data provide a more complete picture of the health conditions in the Kyrgyz Republic than was previously available.

A secondary objective of the survey was to enhance the capabilities of institutions in the Kyrgyz Republic to collect, process, and analyze population and health data.

MAIN FINDINGS

FERTILITY

Fertility Rates. Survey results indicate a total fertility rate (TFR) for all of the Kyrgyz Republic of 3.4 children per woman. Fertility levels differ for different population groups. The TFR for women living in urban areas (2.3 children per woman) is substantially lower than for women living in rural areas (3.9). The TFR for Kyrgyz women (3.6 children per woman) is higher than for women of Russian ethnicity (1.5) but lower than Uzbek women (4.2). Among the regions of the Kyrgyz Republic, the TFR is lowest in Bishkek City (1.7 children per woman), and the highest in the East Region (4.3), and intermediate in the North and South Regions (3.1 and3.9, respectively).

Time Trends. The KRDHS data show that fertility has declined in the Kyrgyz Republic in recent years. The decline in fertility from 5-9 to 0-4 years prior to the survey increases with age, from an 8 percent decline among 20-24 year olds to a 38 percent decline among 35-39 year olds. The declining trend in fertility can be seen by comparing the completed family size of women near the end of their childbearing years with the current TFR. Completed family size among women 40-49 is 4.6 children which is more than one child greater than the current TFR (3.4).

Birth Intervals. Overall, 30 percent of births in the Kyrgyz Republic take place within 24 months of the previous birth. The median birth interval is 31.9 months.

Age at Onset of Childbearing. The median age at which women in the Kyrgyz Republic begin childbearing has been holding steady over the past two decades at approximately 21.6 years. Most women have their first birth while in their early twenties, although about 20 percent of women give birth before age 20.

Nearly half of married women in the Kyrgyz Republic (45 percent) do not want to have more children. Additional one-quarter of women (26 percent) want to delay their next birth by at least two years. These are the women who are potentially in need of some method of family planning.

FAMILY PLANNING

Ever Use. Among currently married women, 83 percent report having used a method of contraception at some time. The women most likely to have ever used a method of contraception are those age 30-44 (among both currently married and all women).

Current Use. Overall, among currently married women, 60 percent report that they are currently using a contraceptive method. About half (49 percent) are using a modern method of contraception and another 11 percent are using a traditional method. The IUD is by far the most commonly used method; 38 percent of currently married women are using the IUD. Other modern methods of contraception account for only a small amount of use among currently married women: pills (2 percent), condoms (6 percent), and injectables and female sterilization (1 and 2 percent, respectively). Thus, the practice of family planning in the Kyrgyz Republic places high reliance on a single method, the IUD.

Source of Methods. The vast majority of women obtain their contraceptives through the public sector (97 percent): 35 percent from a government hospital, and 36 percent from a women counseling center. The source of supply of the method depends on the method being used. For example, most women using IUDs obtain them at women counseling centers (42 percent) or hospitals (39 percent). Government pharmacies supply 46 percent of pill users and 75 percent of condom users. Pill users also obtain supplies from women counseling centers or (33 percent).

Fertility Preferences. A majority of women in the Kyrgyz Republic (45 percent) indicated that they desire no more children. By age 25-29, 20 percent want no more children, and by age 30-34, nearly half (46 percent) want no more children. Thus, many women come to the preference to stop childbearing at relatively young ages-when they have 20 or more potential years of childbearing ahead of them. For some of these women, the most appropriate method of contraception may be a long-acting method such as female sterilization. However, there is a deficiency of use of this method in the Kyrgyz Republic. In the interests of providing a broad range of safe and effective methods, information about and access to sterilization should be increased so that individual women can make informed decisions about using this method.

INDUCED ABORTION

Abortion Rates. From the KRDHS data, the total abortion rate (TAR)-the number of abortions a woman will have in her lifetime based on the currently prevailing abortion rates-was calculated. For the Kyrgyz Republic, the TAR for the period from mid-1994 to mid-1997 is 1.6 abortions per woman. The TAR for the Kyrgyz Republic is lower than recent estimates of the TAR for other areas of the former Soviet Union such as Kazakhstan (1.8), and Yekaterinburg and Perm in Russia (2.3 and 2.8, respectively), but higher than for Uzbekistan (0.7).

The TAR is higher in urban areas (2.1 abortions per woman) than in rural areas (1.3). The TAR in Bishkek City is 2.0 which is two times higher than in other regions of the Kyrgyz Republic. Additionally the TAR is substantially lower among ethnic Kyrgyz women (1.3) than among women of Uzbek and Russian ethnicities (1.9 and 2.2 percent, respectively).

INFANT MORTALITY

In the KRDHS, infant mortality data were collected based on the international definition of a live birth which, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, is a birth that breathes or shows any sign of life (United Nations, 1992). Mortality Rates. For the five-year period before the survey (i.e., approximately mid-1992 to mid1997), infant mortality in the Kyrgyz Republic is estimated at 61 infant deaths per 1,000 births. The estimates of neonatal and postneonatal mortality are 32 and 30 per 1,000.

The MOH publishes infant mortality rates annually but the definition of a live birth used by the MOH differs from that used in the survey. As is the case in most of the republics of the former Soviet Union, a pregnancy that terminates at less than 28 weeks of gestation is considered premature and is classified as a late miscarriage even if signs of life are present at the time of delivery. Thus, some events classified as late miscarriages in the MOH system would be classified as live births and infant deaths according to the definitions used in the KRDHS.

Infant mortality rates based on the MOH data for the years 1983 through 1996 show a persistent declining trend throughout the period, starting at about 40 per 1,000 in the early 1980s and declining to 26 per 1,000 in 1996. This time trend is similar to that displayed by the rates estimated from the KRDHS. Thus, the estimates from both the KRDHS and the Ministry document a substantial decline in infant mortality; 25 percent over the period from 1982-87 to 1992-97 according to the KRDHS and 28 percent over the period from 1983-87 to 1993-96 according to the MOH estimates. This is strong evidence of improvements in infant survivorship in recent years in the Kyrgyz Republic.

It should be noted that the rates from the survey are much higher than the MOH rates. For example, the KRDHS estimate of 61 per 1,000 for the period 1992-97 is twice the MOH estimate of 29 per 1,000 for 1993-96. Certainly, one factor leading to this difference are the differences in the definitions of a live birth and infant death in the KRDHS survey and in the MOH protocols. A thorough assessment of the difference between the two estimates would need to take into consideration the sampling variability of the survey's estimate. However, given the magnitude of the difference, it is likely that it arises from a combination of definitional and methodological differences between the survey and MOH registration system.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH

The Kyrgyz Republic has a well-developed health system with an extensive infrastructure of facilities that provide maternal care services. This system includes special delivery hospitals, the obstetrics and gynecology departments of general hospitals, women counseling centers, and doctor's assistant/midwife posts (FAPs). There is an extensive network of FAPs throughout the rural areas.

Delivery. Virtually all births in the

BackgroundWhile the high prevalence of preterm births and its impact on infant mortality in the US have been widely acknowledged, recent data suggest that even full-term births in the US face substantially higher mortality risks compared to European countries with low infant mortality rates. In this paper, we use the most recent birth records in the US to more closely analyze the primary causes underlying mortality rates among full-term births.Methods and findingsLinked birth and death records for the period 2010–2012 were used to identify the state- and cause-specific burden of infant mortality among full-term infants (born at 37–42 weeks of gestation). Multivariable logistic models were used to assess the extent to which state-level differences in full-term infant mortality (FTIM) were attributable to observed differences in maternal and birth characteristics. Random effects models were used to assess the relative contribution of state-level variation to FTIM. Hypothetical mortality outcomes were computed under the assumption that all states could achieve the survival rates of the best-performing states. A total of 10,175,481 infants born full-term in the US between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2012, were analyzed. FTIM rate (FTIMR) was 2.2 per 1,000 live births overall, and ranged between 1.29 (Connecticut, 95% CI 1.08, 1.53) and 3.77 (Mississippi, 95% CI 3.39, 4.19) at the state level. Zero states reached the rates reported in the 6 low-mortality European countries analyzed (FTIMR < 1.25), and 13 states had FTIMR > 2.75. Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) accounted for 43% of FTIM; congenital malformations and perinatal conditions accounted for 31% and 11.3% of FTIM, respectively. The largest mortality differentials between states with good and states with poor FTIMR were found for SUDI, with particularly large risk differentials for deaths due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (odds ratio [OR] 2.52, 95% CI 1.86, 3.42) and suffocation (OR 4.40, 95% CI 3.71, 5.21). Even though these mortality differences were partially explained by state-level differences in maternal education, race, and maternal health, substantial state-level variation in infant mortality remained in fully adjusted models (SIDS OR 1.45, suffocation OR 2.92). The extent to which these state differentials are due to differential antenatal care standards as well as differential access to health services could not be determined due to data limitations. Overall, our estimates suggest that infant mortality could be reduced by 4,003 deaths (95% CI 2,284, 5,587) annually if all states were to achieve the mortality levels of the best-performing state in each cause-of-death category. Key limitations of the analysis are that information on termination rates at the state level was not available, and that causes of deaths may have been coded differentially across states.ConclusionsMore than 7,000 full-term infants die in the US each year. The results presented in this paper suggest that a substantial share of these deaths may be preventable. Potential improvements seem particularly large for SUDI, where very low rates have been achieved in a few states while average mortality rates remain high in most other areas. Given the high mortality burden due to SIDS and suffocation, policy efforts to promote compliance with recommended sleeping arrangements could be an effective first step in this direction.

This dataset includes birth rates for unmarried women by age group, race, and Hispanic origin in the United States since 1970. Methods for collecting information on marital status changed over the reporting period and have been documented in: • Ventura SJ, Bachrach CA. Nonmarital childbearing in the United States, 1940–99. National vital statistics reports; vol 48 no 16. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 2000. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr48/nvs48_16.pdf. • National Center for Health Statistics. User guide to the 2013 natality public use file. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 2014. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/VitalStatsOnline.htm. National data on births by Hispanics origin exclude data for Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma in 1989; for New Hampshire and Oklahoma in 1990; for New Hampshire in 1991 and 1992. Information on reporting Hispanic origin is detailed in the Technical Appendix for the 1999 public-use natality data file (see (ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/DVS/natality/Nat1999doc.pdf.) All birth data by race before 1980 are based on race of the child. Starting in 1980, birth data by race are based on race of the mother. SOURCES CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, birth data (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm); public-use data files (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/Vitalstatsonline.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov/). REFERENCES Curtin SC, Ventura SJ, Martinez GM. Recent declines in nonmarital childbearing in the United States. NCHS data brief, no 162. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2014. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db162.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, et al. Births: Final data for 2015. National vital statistics reports; vol 66 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf.