The number of neonatal and maternal hospitalizations in children less than 18 years old fell from 2000 to 2012, with maternal hospital stays in teenagers dropping significantly, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
From 2000 to 2006, the number of neonatal hospitalizations increased by about 250,000, rising from slightly more than 4 million to just under 4.3 million. From 2006 to 2012, the number dropped significantly, dipping below the 2000 level to about 3.9 million. Overall, neonatal hospitalizations fell by about 140,000 from 2000 to 2012, or 3.3%, the AHRQ reported.
Maternal hospital stays for teenage girls dropped significantly from 2000 to 2012, despite a small rise from 2003 to 2006. There were just over 196,000 maternal hospitalizations in 2000, but by 2012, the number fell to less than 105,000, a decrease of about 47%. More than half of the decrease occurred in the last 3 years measured, with maternal hospitalizations falling by 50,000 from 2009 to 2012.
There were 5.85 million total hospitalizations in 2012 of children under 18 years. Of these, about two-thirds were neonatal related, while maternal hospitalizations accounted for less than 2% of the total, according to the AHRQ.
The AHRQ report used data collected by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids’ Inpatient Database.
