For the 7th straight year, the rate of preterm births in the United States has decreased, with 11.4% of babies being born preterm in 2013, compared with 11.5% in 2012, according to a new federal report.
The report, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2015, was compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, and includes participants from 23 federal agencies. The report attempts to quantify children’s well-being based on key indicators in seven domains: family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health.
The percentage of preterm births – babies born before 37 weeks’ gestation – along with low-birth-weight infants had been rising for several decades, but the latest report shows progress in both areas. The preterm birth rate fell from a high of 12.8% in 2006 to 11.4% in 2013; the percentage of infants born with low birth weight (less than 5 pounds 8 ounces) was 8.0% in 2013, compared with 8.3% in 2006.
In addition, in 2013, the teen birth rate hit 12/1,000 adolescents aged 15-17 years, a record low, according to the report. In 2007, the teen birth rate was more than 40% higher at 22 births/1,000 adolescents.
But major depressive disorder among adolescents is on the rise, with 11% of youth aged 12-17 years experiencing a major depressive episode in 2013, compared with 9% in 2004. And only 38% of young adults in 2013 received treatment for such an episode, compared to 40% in 2004.