title: 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.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Givens
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D002669:Child Welfare; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology