Elk Grove Village, IL—(ENEWSPF)—May 4, 2015. The number of births and general fertility rates both declined by 1 percent between 2012 and 2013, according to the Annual Summary of Vital Statistics: 2012-2013. The data presented in this report from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is a long-standing feature in Pediatrics and provides a summary of the most current statistics for the United States. Appearing in the June 2015 issue of Pediatrics (published online May 4), the summary also includes a special feature on trends in racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality.
Other highlights include:
Between 2012 and 2013, there were 3,932,181 births in the U.S., a decline of 1 percent.
The general fertility rate declined to 62.5 births per 1,000 women, the lowest rate ever reported.
The teenage birth rate dropped 10 percent from 2012 to 2013 to 26.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19.
The cesarean delivery rate declined in 2013 to 32.7 percent from 32.8 percent in 2012.
The preterm birth rate declined for the seventh straight year in 2013 to 11.39 percent, and the low birth-weight rate declined to 8.02 percent.
Birth rates for women 20 to 29 years of age declined, but rose for women 30 to 39 and remained unchanged for women 40 to 44.
The percentage of births to unmarried women declined slightly (40.6 percent) in 2013 compared to 40.7 percent in 2012.
Unintentional injuries and suicide were the top two leading causes of death in children, and jointly accounted for nearly 50 percent of all child and adolescent deaths in 2013.
Declines in infant mortality were greatest among geographic race/ethnic groups that have traditionally had much higher than average infant mortality rates.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 62,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
Source: www.aap.org
