Maternity

Facts & Figures

  • Approximately 6 million pregnancies occur each year in the United States. (CDC, Division of Reproductive Health)
  • More than one-third of all pregnant women develop pregnancy complications costing $1 billion annually for 2 million hospital days. (CDC Safe Motherhood)
  • The average cost per pregnancy is $15,523. (Report by Cigna Corporation by the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research - Georgia State University and the Center for Health Policy Studies, Columbia, Maryland; www.bls.gov/cpi)
  • The birth rate for teenagers aged 15-19 years rose 3 percent; the first increase reported since 1991. (National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Preliminary Data for 2006)
  • Childbearing by women in their thirties and forties continued to increase in 2006. The rate for women aged 35-39 years rose to 47.3 births per 1,000, 2 percent over the rate in 2005 and the highest rate since 1964. The birth rate for women 40–44 years also rose by 3 percent, to 9.4, the highest rate since 1968, and the rate for women aged 45–49 years was unchanged at 0.6 births per 1,000 women, the highest rate for this age group since 1970. (National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Preliminary Data for 2006)
  • Infertility (female), as specified by two separate ICD-9 codes (628 and 650), are ranked #9 and #19 in the Top 30 most costly claims. (Society of Actuaries Large Claim Database: Updated 2006 for claim years 1997-1999)
  • Certain clinical diagnoses are associated with a poorer outcome from ART, including the presence of hydrosalpinges, uterine leiomyomata that distort the endometrial cavity, and decreased ovarian reserve. Multiple gestations are the major complication after ART. (Van Voorhis BJ, Outcomes from Assisted Reproductive Technology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, January 2006)
  • More than 30 percent of assisted reproductive technology (ART) pregnancies are twins or higher-order multiple gestations (triplets or greater) and more than one half of all ART neonates are the products of multifetal gestations, with an attendant increase in prematurity complications. (Reddy UM et al, Infertility, assisted reproductive technology, and adverse pregnancy outcomes: executive summary of a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development workshop, Obstetrics and Gynecology, April 2007)
  • Although much of the morbidity in children born after ART is the result of multiples, recent analysis suggests that even singletons are at higher risk for perinatal morbidity, including preterm delivery and small for gestational age infants. In vitro fertilization may be associated with a slight increased risk for birth defects. (Van Voorhis BJ, Outcomes from Assisted Reproductive Technology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, January 2006)
  • Assisted reproductive technology singleton pregnancies also demonstrate increased rates of perinatal complications: small for gestational age infants, preterm delivery, and perinatal mortality-as well as maternal complications, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placenta previa, placental abruption, and cesarean delivery. (Reddy UM et al, Infertility, assisted reproductive technology, and adverse pregnancy outcomes: executive summary of a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development workshop, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, April 2007)
  • Nearly 50 percent of all premature births have identifiable risk factors, including multiple pregnancy, past history of pre-term delivery, some uterine and/or cervical abnormalities, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, or other chronic health problems in the mother, certain infections in pregnancy, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, or illicit drug use during pregnancy.
  • In 2005, two pregnancy risk factors, diabetes during pregnancy and pregnancy-associated diabetes each occurred among 4 percent of mothers. The level of pregnancy-associated hypertension is the highest reported since these data became available. Diabetes prevalence has risen by more than two-thirds in the years 1990-2005. (National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Final Data for 2005)
  • Excessive and insufficient weight gain during pregnancy can negatively influence both maternal and pregnancy outcome. Inadequate weight gain is associated with an increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation, shortened period of gestation, low birth weight, spontaneous preterm birth, and perinatal mortality. High weight gain during pregnancy is linked with an elevated risk of gestational diabetes, large for gestational age infant, preeclampsia, labor dystocia, cesarean delivery, shortened breast feeding duration, and long term substantial maternal weight retention. (National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Final Data for 2005)
  • Compared with older women, adolescent deliveries are more likely to have diagnoses of early or threatened labor, hypertension complicating pregnancy, and excess amniotic fluid. (HCUP Fact Book 4, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, October 2003)
  • Nine out of ten women will conceive while employed.
  • The cost of having a baby, from the first prenatal visit to the baby's birth, averaged roughly $7,600. The total, in 2004 dollars, includes payments for hospital childbirth, prenatal office visits, prescription medicines, and other services. Average spending for prenatal care for women with private insurance and women with Medicaid was about the same—approximately $2,000. However, their inpatient delivery costs differed: $6,520 for the former and $4,577 average for the latter.(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, October 2007)
  • Medicaid continues to cover medical expenses for more than one-third of all births in the United States to low income women. In 2002, medical expenses were covered for 1.6 million births. (National Governors Association, Maternal and Child Health Update 2005)
  • For the second consecutive year, timely initiation of prenatal care did not improve in the United States. Prenatal care utilization had improved modestly, but fairly steadily between 1990 and 2003. (National Center for Health Statistics, Births: Final Data for 2005)

Did you know?

Two recent studies of twins suggest a genetic predisposition for preterm birth with heritability of approximately 20 to almost 40 percent.

The increased risk of preterm birth associated with ethnicity or race can persist, even if corrected for socio-economic status.

Mothers who were preterm themselves have an increased risk of delivering preterm.

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