Using national data, this analysis summarizes twenty year trends (1976 to 1996) of pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes among African-American women in the United States. Comprehensive analysis of birth data reported by state health departments to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program (VSCP), abortion data from The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and fetal loss data from pregnancy history information collected for the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) indicated a general decline in pregnancy rates among African-American women in the United States within the twenty year span under review. Analysis of the data also indicated large variations in pregnancy rates and in pregnancy outcomes among married and unmarried African- American women, with education, age, and other socio-economic variables largely influencing the variations. This paper also extrapolates reproductive trends among African-American women for the next ten years, and its implications on other ethnic minority races in the country.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to describe pregnancies and pregnancy outcome among African-American women within the past twenty years, and prospects for the next decade, if current trends continue
Keywords: Minority Research, Pregnancy Outcomes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: none
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.