Maternal and Child Health Data and Statistics
Professional Resource Brief
The compilations and websites listed below present data sets, data tools, and statistics about infants, children, adolescents, pregnant women, and their families. Where appropriate, we've included tips and search examples on how to identify the data and statistics efficiently. See the guide, How to Find Data and Statistics, from Michigan State University Libraries, which explains the difference between data and statistics and how to find each one.
Annual Compilations
- America's
Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
- Child Health USA. Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Health, United States. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
- KIDS COUNT Data Book. Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF).
- Women's Health USA. Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- World Health Statistics. World Health Organization (WHO).
Websites
- CDC Wonder (Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research). Data sets about HIV and AIDS, births, cancer, underlying cause of death (includes infant deaths from linked birth/infant death records), tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and vaccinations. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Census Bureau. Data about the nation's people and economy. To view maternal and child health (MCH)–related data, tables, and reports, us Browse by Topic and select Families & Living Arrangements; select sub-topic (e.g., Children); and click on a subject in the left navigation or browse categories below. Use Explore Data to further search, organize, and present Census Bureau data.
- Child Care and Early Education Research Connections. Data about child care and early childhood education and a tool for analyzing
the data online. Includes links to state data tools and summary statistical
information about demographics, economic conditions, early care and education,
and programs and policies. National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), and Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
- ChildStats.gov. Indicators of infant, child, and adolescent well-being, including family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education,
and health. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
- County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Data profiles of the counties within each of the 50 states. Counties are ranked according to their health outcomes and the multiple health factors that determine a county's health: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic, and the physical environment. To get a county profile, click on a state and select a county. Use the tabs at the top of the profile to view a data snapshot, additional measures, and programs and policies designed to address one or more of the factors that influence health. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
- Data.gov.
Access to datasets that are generated and held by the federal
government. Includes descriptions of the datasets (metadata),
information about how to access the datasets, and tools that
leverage government datasets. Health, education, and safety are among the topics covered.
- Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC). Data from the National Survey of Children's Health and the National Survey
of Children with Special Health Care Needs. Browse national and state findings on hundreds of child health indicators, or download state snapshot profiles. Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI).
- diversitydata.org. Metropolitan area indicators of diversity, opportunity, and quality of life (including health) for various racial and ethnic population groups. Data are presented in profiles by metropolitan area or by indicator in ranked lists, maps, bar graphs, or histograms. Also sponsors diversitydatakids.org. Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
- FastStats A to Z. Statistical fact sheets on topics of public health importance and about public health in individual states and territories. Fact sheets have links to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related website pages. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
- Global Health Observatory (GHO) Data Repository. Access to datasets on international health. World Health Organization (WHO).
- Guttmacher Institute Data Center. Data about contraceptive use and services, pregnancy, births, and abortions. Includes demographic data about women of reproductive age and data about adolescents. View international, national, and state profiles or customize the data to create tables, graphs, and maps.
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP): HCUPnet. Health statistics and information on hospital inpatient and emergency department
utilization at the national, regional, and state levels, including use of
hospitals by children. Search example: To identify data about hospital use related to pregnancy and childbirth, select National Statistics on All Stays or State Statistics on All Stays. Select Researcher, medical professional. Under type of query, select Statistics on specific diagnoses or procedures. Select a year (e.g., 2009). Select Diagnoses grouped by Clinical Classifications Software (CCS). Select Principal diagnosis. Under the field, Browse all CCS categories, scroll to 11 COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY, CHILDBIRTH, AND THE PUERPERIUM. Highlight the category of interest (e.g., Normal pregnancy and/or delivery). Hold the control key down and click to make multiple selections. Click on Next. Select the outcomes and measures of interest (e.g., Number of discharges) and click on Next. Select patient and hospital characteristics (e.g., All patients in all hospitals) and click on Next. View your results. Also see the set of HCUP statistical briefs on a variety of MCH topics. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Area Health Resources Files (AHRF). A family of health data resource produces drawn from an extensive county-level database assembled annually from over 50 sources. It contains AHRF databases, AHRF Health Resources Comparison Tools, and an AHRF mapping tool covering health care professions, hospitals and healthcare facilities, and census, population data, and environment.
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Data Warehouse. Information about HRSA programs and tools to access data about the health care delivery system and factors that may impact health status and health care in the United States (e.g., health professional shortage areas, primary care service areas).
- Healthy People
2030. Data and objectives of Healthy People 2030, a national health-promotion and disease-prevention
initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services. Search by topic area (e.g., Maternal, Infant, and Child Health) or data source.
- KIDS COUNT Data Center. National, state, county, and community data about infant, child, and adolescent
well-being. Data categories include demographics, education, economic well-being, family and community, health, and safety and risk factors. Generate custom graphs, maps,
ranked lists, and state-by-state
profiles. Annie
E. Casey Foundation.
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Data from this set of large-scale surveys of families and individuals, their health professionals, and employers across the United States about the cost and use of health care and health insurance coverage. Click on a topic (e.g., children's health) for a description of the data captured on the topic, data tables, a query tool, and statistical briefs and other publications. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
- National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. National and state data about adolescent pregnancy, births, and sexual activity and unplanned pregnancy among all women.
- National
Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP): Data Tools.
National- and state-level statistics about children
from families with low incomes on topics such
as parental education, parental employment, marital
status, and race/ethnicity. Information about state
and federal policies that assist families with low
incomes. A Basic
Needs Budget Calculator shows how much a family
needs to make ends meet. A Young Child Risk Calculator shows how many young children in a state face individual risks associated with poor health and educational outcomes as well as multiple risks in combination with economic hardship. A Family Resource
Simulator shows the impact of federal and
state "work support" benefits on the budgets of low- to moderate-income families. An Income
Converter converts values among federal poverty
guidelines, state median income, and annual income
(in dollars).
- National Center for Education Statistics. Surveys and data about education in the United States and internationally. Presents tools for searching and analyzing data and annual reports, fact sheets, and other publications with education statistics. Department of Education (ED).
- National Center for Health Statistics (NCSH): Surveys and Data Collection Systems. Links to data systems on a broad range of health topics, such as the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States, health care access, childhood immunization coverage, family life, pregnancy, infertility, use of contraception, births, and deaths. Also see FastStats A to Z.
- National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. National quality and disparities reports, national and state summaries cross quality measures, data query system to search data across specific measures, and resources to improve quality performance. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- Office of Population Affairs, Adolescent Health. Statistics about adolescents and mental health, physical health and nutrition, reproductive health, substance abuse, and relationships. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
- PeriStats.
Maternal and infant health–related data at the
national, state, county, and city levels. Topics
include prenatal care; tobacco, alcohol, and substance use; birth rates;
preterm birth; birthweight; singletons and multiples; delivery methods; infant
mortality; and health insurance coverage.
Create graphs and maps. View fact sheets and state summaries. Data are referenced to the relevant source. March of Dimes (MOD).
- Pregnancy
Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS).
State-specific, population-based data
on maternal attitudes and experiences before,
during, and immediately following pregnancy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments.
- Profile Study. Statistics on local health department financing,
workforce, and activities based on data from NACCHO's National Profile of
Local Health Departments Survey. National Association of Count and City Health Officials (NACCHO).
- Health Information Gateway. State- and county-level women’s health data about demographics, mortality, natality, reproductive health, violence, prevention, disease, and mental health. Office on Women's Health (OWH).
- State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC): Data Center. Health insurance coverage estimates from the Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS), the American Community Survey (ACS), the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Systems (BRFSS), and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey—Insurance Component (MEPS-IC). Customize tables and graphs of health insurance coverage estimates by state or nationally, by year, by age range, and/or by poverty status. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
- State Health Facts. State-level data on more than 700 health topics. View individual state profiles or compare data for all states by category. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Data, Outcomes, and Quality. National data on the prevalence, treatment, and consequences of substance abuse and mental illness in the United States.
- Title
V Information System (TVIS). Data from annual Title
V Block Grant applications and
reports submitted by all 59 U.S.
states and jurisdictions. Presents financial, program, and performance/indicator data as well as state-by-state, regional, and national composite data. Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- Uniform Crime Reporting. Crime data from law-enforcement agencies across the United States. View the annual report, Crime in the United States, which includes tables depicting child and adolescent arrests by age and type of crime. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
- WISQARS (Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System). Data on injury-related deaths, violent deaths, and nonfatal injuries (including violence-related injuries) for all age groups. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- World Development Indicators (WDI). Indicators for more than 200 countries from 1960 to present. Scroll to the Health section to scan and select
MCH-related indicators. World Bank.
- Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS): Youth Online. National, state, and local data about health-risk behaviors that contribute
markedly to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among
adolescents and adults in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Related MCH Digital Library Resources
- Maternal and Child Health Literature and Research Databases resource brief
- Maternal and Child Health Programs Databases resource brief
Maternal and Child Health Data and Statistics: Resource Brief. (February 2012). (Updated: February 2017; March 2022).
Authors: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., NCEMCH; Olivia Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., NCEMCH.