CDC: U.S. Births Fall for Fourth Consecutive Year – By Gaby Galvin (US News) / Nov 27 2019
A new report shows the country’s C-section rate also fell in 2018, while a slightly greater share of women received prenatal care early in pregnancy.
A new analysis of millions of births in the U.S. provides insight into the health care landscape for pregnant women in 2018, and how infant health outcomes have changed in the country.
In all, there were 3.79 million births in the U.S. last year, down 2% from 2017 and marking the fourth year in a row the total has fallen after an uptick in 2014, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Birth rates fell for teenagers and women under 35, and rose for women 35 and older.
The new data also indicates that, among other measures, a greater share of women started prenatal care early in pregnancy and gave birth vaginally in 2018 – even as disparities persisted for many birth-related outcomes.
Health Care During Pregnancy
In 2018, 77.5% of pregnant women began prenatal care in the first trimester, up from 77.3% in 2017. Those rates rose for women who were white, black, Asian and Hispanic, but fell for American Indians and Alaska Natives, and for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.
Overall, the percentage of women who got prenatal care early in pregnancy ranged from 51% among Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders to 82.5% for whites.
Continue to article: https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-11-27/us-births-fall-for-fourth-consecutive-year-cdc-says
