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State summary for
  1. In 2021, 1 in 10 babies (10.5% of live births) was born preterm in the United States.
  2. In 2021, 1 in 12 babies (8.5% of live births) was low birthweight in the United States.
  3. In the United States in 2020, 19,607 infants died before reaching their first birthday, an infant mortality rate of 5.4 per 1,000 live births.
  4. In the United States in 2021, 75.6% of infants were born to women receiving adequate/adequate plus prenatal care.
  5. In the United States in 2021, 32.1% of live births were cesarean deliveries.
  6. In 2020, about 1 in 9 women of childbearing age (11.6%) was uninsured in the United States.

In an average week in United States:

 
babies are born
 
babies are born preterm
 
babies born low birthweight
 
women received adequate prenatal care

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Topics Reports Infographic

Data Topics

Use this page to browse the multiple different data sets and indicators that PeriStats offers on maternal and infant health subjects. The data search tool on this page will guide you through the data we continually update.

Preterm Birth

Preterm birth is defined as a live birth before 37 completed weeks gestation. Some other classifications of preterm births include late preterm (34-36 weeks), moderately preterm (32-36 weeks) and very preterm (<32 weeks). These classifications are useful because they often correspond to clinical characteristics - increasing morbidities or illnesses with decreasing gestational age. Babies born too soon are often born too small. While the causes of preterm birth and low birthweight may be different in some cases, there is significant overlap within these populations of infants.

Last updated: January 2022

Search PubMed literature for recent research articles on Preterm Birth

Reports

State summary reports consist of several different reports that the Perinatal Data Center has created in order to use data to tell a story about maternal and child health in your state. While some individual datapoints will overlap, each report has a different focus. These reports may be useful to use for local policy changes or programs.

2022 MARCH OF DIMES REPORT CARD
2023 March of Dimes Report Card
Last updated: November 2023 View
MATERNITY CARE DESERTS REPORT
Maternity Care Deserts Report
Last updated: July 2023 View
PREMATURITY PROFILE
Prematurity Profile
Last updated: August 2022 View
HEALTHY MOMS. STRONG BABIES.
Healthy Moms. Strong Babies.
Last updated: January 2019 Download

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Infographic

The March of Dimes Report Card indicates the maternal and infant health crisis is worsening. You can make a difference. Share your state's grade on your social channels, by email or by text and encourage others to take action by advocating for change.

Additional State Resources