On this page: About the National Data | Methodology | History | References
About the National Data
Data
Baseline: 10.0 percent of live births were preterm in 2018
Target: 9.4 percent
Methodology
Methodology notes
Data for this objective are based on the 2003 U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth item "Obstetric estimate of gestation." The obstetric estimate of gestation is defined as "the best obstetric estimate of the infant's gestation in completed weeks based on the birth attendant's final estimate of gestation".
The total preterm birth rate is calculated as the number of births delivered at less than 37 completed weeks of gestation per 100 total births, based on the obstetric estimate of gestation.
History
References
Additional resources about the objective
- Martin JA, Osterman MJK, Kirmeyer SE, Gregory ECW. Measuring gestational age in vital statistics data: Transitioning to the obstetric estimate. National vital statistics reports; vol 64 no 5. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2015.
1. Because Healthy People 2030 objectives have a desired direction (e.g., increase or decrease), the confidence level of a one-sided prediction interval can be used as an indication of how likely a target will be to achieve based on the historical data and fitted trend.