Status report on maternal and child health indicators

Abstract

The health of pregnant women and children has improved substantially since the 1960s. In the past decade, however, progress in preventing infant deaths, reducing the incidence of low-birth-weight infants, and ensuring first trimester prenatal care has slowed. African-American infants suffer a significantly higher risk of poor pregnancy outcome. Immunization rates for preschoolers remain low. Changing social conditions including a rising child poverty rate, a high teenage birth rate, an increased rate of births to unmarried women, and higher levels of unintended pregnancy may be contributing to stalled progress.