From 2014 to 2023, there was an increase in the percentage of infants delivered preterm, according to a report published in the June Health E-Stats, a publication of the National Center for Health Statistics.

Joyce Martin, M.P.H., and Michelle J.K. Osterman, M.H.S., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used birth certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System data files to examine trends in early-term singleton births in the United States from 2014 to 2023 overall and by maternal age.

The researchers observed a 13% increase in the percentage of infants delivered preterm from 2014 to 2023, from 7.74 to 8.71% among all births. A 22% increase was seen in the percentage of early-term births, from 24.31 to 29.64%, with increases of 47% for births at 37 weeks and 9% for births at 38 weeks (8.17 to 12.05% and 16.13 to 17.58%, respectively).

In contrast, full-term births declined by 7% (from 60.76 to 56.68%), and late and postterm births declined from 7.20 to 4.97%. Early-term births increased 21% and 23% for mothers younger than 30 years and for those aged 30 years and older, respectively.

From 2014 to 2023, there was a 77% increase in the percentage of early-term births for which labor was induced, from 17.7 to 31.3%. The percentage of births induced at 37 and 38 weeks increased 81% and 68%, respectively.

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