Births: Final Data for 2016.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
National vital statistics registry surveillance report (by design analogy, not clinical CEBM)
What was done
Descriptive analysis of 2016 US birth certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System, examining trends from 2010 to 2016 across maternal demographics (age, race/Hispanic origin, marital status), prenatal care timing, tobacco use, delivery payment source, delivery method, gestational age, birthweight, and plurality.
What was found
A total of 3,945,875 births were registered in the United States in 2016, a 1% decline from 2015. The general fertility rate fell to 62.0 per 1,000 women aged 15–44, and the total fertility rate declined to 1,820.5 per 1,000 women. Teen birth rates (ages 15–19) fell by 9%, and birth rates decreased for women in their 20s but rose for women in their 30s and early 40s. Birth rates among unmarried women fell while rates for married women increased. First-trimester prenatal care was initiated by 77.1% of women, 7.2% reported smoking during pregnancy, and Medicaid funded 42.6% of deliveries. Cesarean deliveries fell for the fourth consecutive year. Preterm birth rates increased for the second consecutive year and low birthweight increased by 1%. Twin and higher-order multiple birth rates decreased, but the changes were not statistically significant.
Why it matters
Serves as the official annual benchmark for United States reproductive surveillance, detailing shifting age-specific fertility patterns and rising rates of low birthweight and preterm delivery.
Limits
Analysis is restricted to variables captured on state birth certificates and relies on maternal self-report for behaviors such as prenatal tobacco use. As a descriptive vital statistics summary, it cannot establish causal mechanisms underlying observed demographic and clinical trends.
Cited by
- supports Placentas are discarded after delivery roughly 3.9 million times per year in the United States alone.