ANNUAL SUMMARY OF VITAL-STATISTICS - 1995

Recent trends in the vital statistics of the United States continued i n 1995, including decreases in the number of births, the birth rate, t he age-adjusted death rate, and the infant mortality rate; life expect ancy at birth increased to a level equal to the record high of 75.8 ye ars in 1992. Marriages and divorces both decreased. An estimated 3 900 089 infants were born during 1995, a decline of 1% from 1994. The pre liminary birth rate for 1995 was 14.8 live births per 1000 total popul ation, a 3% decline, and the lowest recorded in nearly two decades. Th e fertility rate, which relates births to women in the childbearing ag es, declined to 65.6 live births per 1000 women 15 to 44 years old, th e lowest rate since 1986. According to preliminary data for 1995, fert ility rates declined for all racial groups with the gap narrowing betw een black and white rates. The fertility rate for black women declined 7% to a historic low level (71.7); the preliminary rate for white wom en (64.5) dropped just 1%. Fertility rates continue to be highest for Hispanic, especially Mexican-American, women. Preliminary data for 199 5 suggest a 2% decline in the rate for Hispanic women to 103.7. The bi rth rate for teenagers has now decreased for four consecutive years, f rom a high of 62.1 per 1000 women 15 to 19 years old in 1991 to 56.9 i n 1995, an overall decline of 8%. The rate of childbearing by unmarrie d mothers dropped 4% from 1994 to 1495, from 46.9 births per 1000 unma rried women 15 to 44 years old to 44.9, the first decline in the rate in nearly two decades. The proportion of all births occurring to unmar ried women dropped as well in 1995, to 32.0% from 32.6% in 1994. Smoki ng during pregnancy dropped steadily from 1989 (19.5%) to 1994 (14.6%) , a decline of about 25%. Prenatal care utilization continued to impro ve in 1995 with 81.2% of all mothers receiving care in the first trime ster compared with 78.92 in 1993. Preliminary data for 1995 suggests c ontinued improvement to 81.2%. The percent of infants delivered by ces arean delivery declined slightly to 20.8% in 1995. The percent of low birth weight (LBW) infants continued to climb in 1994 rising to 7.3%, from 7.2% in 1993. The proportion of LEW improved slightly among black infants, declining from 13.3% to 13.2% between 1993 and 1994. Prelimi nary figures for 1995 suggest continued decline in LEW for black infan ts (13.0%). The multiple birth ratio rose to 25.7 per 1000 births for 1994, an increase of 2% over 1993 and 33% since 1980. Age-adjusted dea th rates in 1995 were lower for heart disease, malignant neoplasms, ac cidents, and homicide. Although the total number of human immunodefici ency virus (HIV) infection deaths increased sightly from 42 114 in 199 4 to an estimated 42 506 in 1995, the age-adjusted death rate for HIV infection did not increase, which may indicate a leveling off of the s teep upward trend in mortality from HIV infection since 1987. Nearly 1 5 000 children between the ages of 1-14 years died in the United State s (US) in 1995. The death rate for children 1 to 4 years old in 1995 w as 40.4 per 100 000 population aged 1 to 4 years, 6% lower than the ra te of 42.9 in 1994. The 1995 death rate for 5- to 14-year-olds was 22. 1, 2% lower than the rate of 22.5 in 1994. Since 1979, death rates hav e declined by 37% for children I to 4 years old, and by 30% for childr en 5 to 14 years old. For children 1 to 4 years old, the leading cause of death was injuries, which accounted for an estimated 2277 deaths i n 1995, 36% of all deaths in this age group. Injuries were the leading cause of death for 5- to 14-year-olds as well, accounting for an even higher percentage (41%) of all deaths. in 1995, the preliminary infan t mortality rate was 7.5 per 1000 live births, 6% lower than 1994, and the lowest ever recorded in the US. The decline occurred for neonatal as well as postneonatal mortality rates, and among white and black in fants alike. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) rates have dropped pr ecipitously since 1992, when the American Academy of Pediatrics issued recommendations that infants be placed on their backs or sides to sle ep to reduce the risk of SIDS. SIDS dropped to the third leading cause of infant death in 1994 after being the second leading cause of death since 1980. Infant mortality rates (IMRs) have also declined rapidly for respiratory distress syndrome since 1989, concurrent with the wide spread availability of new treatments for this condition.