Quick Stats for the United States
� Every 8 seconds a baby is born in the United States.
� Every hour 3 babies die.
� African American infants are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday as white infants.
� Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality.
� More than one in five infant deaths is due to birth defects.
� Every 3� minutes a baby is born with a birth defect.*
� Each year 2,500 babies are born with birth defects of the brain and spinal cord.
� Every 2 minutes a low birthweight baby is born.
� Every year more than 4,200 babies are born weighing less than 1 pound.
� Every minute a baby is born to a teen mother.
� Each day 410 babies are born to mothers who started prenatal care in the 3rd trimester or received no prenatal care at all.
� More than 1 in 9 infants is born preterm (less than 37 weeks gestation).
� The US infant mortality rate is higher than 25 other nations.
Based on 1998 final data from the National Center for Health Statistics and *estimates from the CDC
�1999-2000 March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. All rights reserved |
