title: Fetal and neonatal mortality risks of multiple births.
abstract: The purpose of this article is to describe the perinatal mortality experience and mortality-related risk factors of recent US multiple births. First, we describe trends in fetal and neonatal mortality rates for singleton and multiple births to understand if the improvements in perinatal mortality in the United States are equally or differentially reflected among multiple births. Because the characteristics of women who have multiple deliveries differ from those of mothers of singletons, we describe the risk of fetal and neonatal mortality by maternal characteristics and plurality. Finally, we examine the distribution and fetal and neonatal mortality risk of singleton and multiple births by birth weight and gestational age to provide an updated assessment and contrast of their comparative survival chances within similar birth weight-gestational age categories of intrauterine development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, RPHB 320, 1530 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, USA. alexandg@uab.edu
authors.forename: Greg R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slay Wingate
authors.forename: Hamisu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salihu
authors.forename: Russell S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kirby
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D003710:Demography; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000453:epidemiology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D009035:Mothers; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology