According to the 2022 March of Dimes report card, the US preterm birthrate was 10.5% as of 2021.
March of Dimes collects data about neonatal outcomes and maternal risks factors. These include measurements on infant mortality and preterm births, low-risk cesareans, inadequate prenatal care and rates of preterm labor.
March of Dimes’ 2022 report card found that infant and maternal health have declined. Both preterm and low-risk cesarean deliveries have increased. This has led to a wider health equity gap that was not present in previous years.
Preterm births average 10.5% which is a 44% increase over the previous years. The United States has been given a preterm birth rating of D+. This has had a significant impact on Black women, who have a 52% lower preterm birth rate that white women. The disparity ratio is now 1.26.
Infant mortality is used often to assess overall health. Low birth weight, preterm births, birth defects, maternal complications and sudden infant deaths syndrome are all common causes of infant mortality. The infant mortality rate in 2022 was 5.4/1000 live births. The non-Hispanic Black woman had the highest infant death rate.
Additional clinical measures were used to assess maternal health. Low-risk cesarean deliveries were 26.3%. Low-risk cesarean births were first-time mothers who delivered a baby head-first within the first 37 weeks of their pregnancy.
Inadequate parental care was also measured, defined as the rate of women who were given care starting from at least the fifth month, or women who received under half of the recommended number of visits based on their infant’s gestational age. 14.5% was considered inadequate parental care.
The report’s authors recommended that policies be put in place to improve the health of infants and mothers across the United States, due to the state of maternal and newborn health.
Refer to
Report card for 2022 March of Dimes. March of Dimes. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://marchofdimes.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/2022-MarchofDimes-ReportCard-UnitedStates.pdf
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