Latest Data Show No Improvements on Two Critical Childbirth Outcomes

Share of Infants Born Weighing Less than 5 Pounds, 8 Ounces: 1995 to 2022

Trend graph showing increasing percentages of infants born at low birthweight across the years 1995 to 2022, for California and the United States.

The United States lags well behind other affluent nations on healthy birthweight and other maternal and newborn health outcomes. Despite substantial investment in childbirth systems and services, Americans of childbearing age today are more likely to have low birthweight babies than to have been born at low birthweight themselves. More than two and a half decades of data on rates of low birthweight show increases of more than 16% nationally and 20% in California since 1995.

Rates of infants born preterm—before 37 weeks’ gestational age—have similarly not improved overall since 2008 (the first year for which comparable estimates are available). After declining steadily between 2009 and 2014, trends then reversed, and in 2022 percentages for the United States (10.4%) and California (9.1%) had returned to 2008 levels.

Much more can be done to care for mothers and babies before, during, and after pregnancy—not only to improve childbirth outcomes overall but to reduce long-standing disparities by race/ethnicity, geography, and other sociodemographic factors. Read about evidence-based policy, system, and practice options that could influence low birthweight and preterm birth rates.


Opportunities

Building Trust in Healthcare Among Historically Marginalized Pregnant Women

The Standing Committee on Reproductive Health, Equity, and Society of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will hold the last webinar in its five-part series, Maternal Health Disparities: The Women Behind the Data, which explores social determinants of health that negatively impact maternal health outcomes. On Friday, June 28, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET, guest speakers and panelists will discuss building trust amongst historically marginalized pregnant women.

Cutting Child Poverty in Half and More

On Thursday, July 11, at 2:00 p.m. ET, the Foundation for Child Development will host a webinar exploring insights from their newly released paper, Cutting Child Poverty in Half and More: Pandemic-Era Lessons From Child and Family Advocates and Organizers. A panel of parents, community organizers, and policy advocates will discuss takeaways from the groundbreaking federal policy changes that achieved unprecedented success in driving down child poverty in 2020 and 2021.


Children’s Health Resources

2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book

For the second year in a row, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks California 35th among U.S. states in overall child well-being. Explore the data and learn what the latest national fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores reveal about pandemic learning losses.

An Expanded Approach to the Ascertainment of Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs

More than 4 million U.S. children with diagnosed health conditions and functional difficulties who experience health impacts similar to those of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are not identified as CSHCN by the standard screening instrument, according to a new study published in Pediatrics. The researchers propose an expanded approach to counting CSHCN, and a companion piece discusses policy and research implications.

Family Experiences With Medi-Cal Renewal

Earlier this year, The Children’s Partnership conducted focus groups with parents and guardians of color and those with limited English proficiency to learn about their families’ experiences during the Medi-Cal “unwinding” period (after pandemic enrollment protections ended), which aspects of the renewal process work well, and what needs to change in order to keep their children covered. A summary slide deck and advocacy fact sheet based on their observations, recommendations, and concerns are available now.

Barriers, Inequities, and Policy Options for Youth With Special Health Care Needs Aging Out of Public Programs

The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health, supported by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, has published a national report, a five-state case study, and three policy briefs on what happens to young adults with disabilities when they age out of public programs. Together, these resources identify policies and strategies to ensure and improve access to adult benefits, reduce disruptions to care, and address inequities, with a focus on the experiences of Black youth.


Recently Released Data

We recently released data about demographics and low birthweight and preterm births. See links to the latest here.

Posted by kidsdata.org

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 27th, 2024 at 12:00 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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