Skip directly to searchSkip directly to the site navigationSkip directly to the page's main content

Complete PHOM Indicator Profile Report of Preterm Birth

Definition

The number of live births under 37 weeks gestation divided by the total number of live births over the same time period.

Numerator

Number of live born infants born less than 37 weeks gestation.

Denominator

Total number of live births.

Data Interpretation Issues

Reporting of preterm birth (PTB) trends has been complicated by a change in how gestational age (GA) is reported by the National Center for Health Statistics. PTB is defined as a birth less than 37 weeks gestation. Historically, GA was calculated by the mother's last menstrual period (LMP) and PTB rates were reported this way. Since the 2003 revision of the birth certificate, GA is also reported by obstetric estimate (OE), which is considered more accurate. Beginning in 2010, national rates are reported using OE and are not consistent with rates reported before 2010. Utah rates have been reported using OE since 1996.

Why Is This Important?

Preterm birth, birth before 37 weeks gestation, is the leading cause of perinatal death in otherwise normal newborns and is a leading cause of long-term neurological disabilities in children. Infants born before 32 weeks gestation bear the biggest burden representing more than 50 percent of infant deaths. Babies born preterm also have increased risks for long-term morbidities and often require intensive care after birth. Healthcare costs and length of hospital stay are higher for premature infants. For a preterm infant without complications, average hospital stays are three times longer than a term infant, and for a preterm infant with complications, average hospital stays are over seven times longer than a term infant. Utah inpatient hospital discharge data (2019) indicate that average hospital charges for a premature infant were $90,734 (DRG 790, 791, 792) compared to $4,127 for a term newborn infant (DRG 795). Utah inpatient hospital discharge data (2019) indicate that the average length of stay for a premature infant was 16 days (DRG 790, 791, 792) compared to 2 days for a term newborn infant (DRG 795).

Healthy People Objective: Reduce total preterm births

U.S. Target: 9.4 percent
State Target: 8.9 percent

Other Objectives

The Healthy People 2030 has an objective of reducing Preterm Births- MICH-07 with a baseline of 10% (2018) and a goal of 9.4%.

How Are We Doing?

The Utah preterm birth rate increased from 8.8% in 1990 to a high of 10.1% in 2005. The rate has remained under 10% from 2006 to the present. The Utah preterm birth rate increased by 6.6% in 2021, going from 9.27% in 2020 to 9.88% in 2021.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

The U.S. preterm birth rate, defined as the percentage of infants born at less than 37 completed weeks of gestation, increased to 10.48% in 2021 from 10.09% in 2020. This is the highest reported since 2007 (10.44%). From 2007 (the most recent year for which national data are available based on the obstetric estimate of gestation) to 2014, the rate dropped by 8%, then rose by 7% from 2014 (9.57%) to 2019. Available from: [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr020.pdf]. The Utah 2020 rate of 9.88% is below the national rate but above the Healthy People 2030 goal of 9.4%. In 2007, the U.S. began reporting preterm birth rates based on obstetric estimates rather than based on the last menstrual period (LMP) making it difficult to compare Utah to the U.S. farther back than 2007. The obstetric estimate has been shown to more accurately reflect the true gestational age of the infant than LMP.

What Is Being Done?

Approximately half of the preterm births in Utah are due to complications of the pregnancy (multiple births, placental problems, fetal distress, infections) or maternal health factors such as high blood pressure or uterine malformations. The remaining preterm births have unexplained causes. In an effort to reduce the preterm birth rate, emphasis is being placed on maternal preconception health to help women achieve optimal health prior to pregnancy. Some ways women can achieve optimal health include stopping the use of tobacco and alcohol, controlling chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and obtaining an optimal pre-pregnancy weight. Early and continuous prenatal care is encouraged to detect problems that may arise during pregnancy. Education should be provided on the urgent maternal warning signs (https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html) and the importance of recognition and treatment for these symptoms. Standards for assisted reproductive technology should be followed to reduce the frequency of twins or higher-order multiple pregnancies. Pregnant women should also be referred for appropriate services such as Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) and psychosocial counseling. The maternal committee of the Utah Women and Newborns Quality Collaborative (UWNQC) worked to prevent recurrent spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) in women with a previous history of SPTB. This team developed a series of videos on preterm birth prevention. The committee has produced materials to help educate families who have delivered prematurely on what they can do to reduce the chances of preterm birth from happening in future pregnancies. In addition, the maternal committee has worked on access to immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception as well as other family planning access.

Available Services

'''Baby Your Baby Hotline:''' 1-800-826-9662[[br]] A public resource to answer pregnancy related questions and locate services. '''The Power Your Life website:''' [http://www.poweryourlife.org][[br]] Public education about how to be at optimal health prior to pregnancy.[[br]] [[br]] Social media for Power Your Life include: *Facebook: [http://www.facebook.com/poweryourlifeutah] *Twitter: @Poweryourlife2 *Pinterest: [http://www.pinterest.com/poweryourlifeut][[br]] [[br]] '''Utah Tobacco Quit Line:''' 1-888-567-8788 '''Utah Women and Newborn Quality Collaborative:''' [https://mihp.utah.gov/uwnqc/][[br]] Provider and patient education about improving maternal and neonatal outcomes through collaborative efforts centered on quality improvement methodology and data sharing. '''MotherToBaby:'''[[br]] Phone - 1-800-822-2229[[br]] Text - 1-855-999-3525[[br]] Email - expertinfo@mothertobaby.org[[br]] Live Chat- [http://www.mothertobaby.org][[br]] A service to answer questions about what's safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding.[[br]] [[br]] Social media for MotherToBaby include: *Facebook: [http://www.facebook.com/MotherToBaby] *Twitter: @MotherToBaby *Pinterest: [http://www.pinterest.com/MotherToBaby][[br]] [[br]] '''Baby Watch Early Intervention Hotline:''' 1-800-961-4226[[br]] Utah's network of services for children, birth to three years of age, with developmental delay or disabilities. '''March of Dimes''' [http://www.marchofdimes.org][[br]] The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.[[br]] *Facebook: [https://www.facebook.com/marchofdimes][[br]] *Twitter: @MarchofDimes[[br]] *YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/marchofdimes][[br]] [[br]] '''University of Utah Health Care Parent-to-Parent Support Group:''' 1-801-581-2098[[br]] Support Program for families of high risk/critically ill newborns.

More Information

[http://mchb.hrsa.gov][[br]] [http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/index.htm][[br]] [http://www.marchofdimes.com]


Graphical Data Views

Preterm births (less Than 37 weeks gestation) by county, Utah, 2017-2021 and U.S., 2021

::chart - missing::
confidence limits

Countypercentage of live born infantsLower LimitUpper LimitNote
Record Count: 31
Beaver11.8%9.2%15.1%
Box Elder10.7%9.8%11.7%
Cache8.9%8.3%9.4%
Carbon12.0%10.2%14.1%
Daggett****
Davis9.8%9.5%10.2%
Duchesne10.6%9.1%12.2%
Emery10.0%7.7%12.8%
Garfield8.7%5.8%12.8%
Grand7.4%5.3%10.1%
Iron9.8%8.9%10.8%
Juab8.6%6.9%10.5%
Kane7.6%5.3%10.6%
Millard11.5%9.6%13.8%
Morgan10.7%8.6%13.2%
Piute10.8%5.5%20.1%*
Rich9.9%5.8%16.1%
Salt Lake9.6%9.4%9.8%
San Juan9.2%7.4%11.4%
Sanpete10.4%9.0%11.8%
Sevier10.8%9.3%12.5%
Summit9.3%8.1%10.7%
Tooele10.2%9.4%11.1%
Uintah11.4%10.2%12.7%
Utah9.0%8.8%9.3%
Wasatch8.4%7.2%9.7%
Washington8.7%8.2%9.3%
Wayne9.9%6.0%15.9%
Weber10.1%9.7%10.6%
State9.5%9.4%9.7%
U.S.10.5%2021 Provisional Data

Data Notes

Note: County represents county of mother's residence. * Use caution in interpreting rates for Piute County, the estimates have a coefficient of variation >30% and are therefore deemed unreliable by Utah Department of Health standards. ** The estimates for Daggett county have been suppressed because 1) the relative standard error is greater than 50% or the relative standard error can't be determined or 2) the observed number of events is very small and not appropriate for publication. 2021 U.S. data is provisional. Preterm birth is calculated by obstetric estimate.

Data Sources

  • Utah Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health
  • National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Preterm births (less than 37 weeks gestation) by mother's race, Utah, 2021

::chart - missing::
confidence limits

Racepercentage of live born infantsLower LimitUpper LimitNote
Record Count: 8
American Indian/Alaska Native12.4%9.7%15.6%
Asian10.9%9.2%12.9%
Black, African American11.5%9.5%13.8%
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander12.9%10.0%16.6%
White9.7%9.4%10.0%
Two or More Races13.5%10.2%17.6%
All Races9.9%9.6%10.2%
U.S.10.5%2021 Provisional Data

Data Notes

2021 U.S. data is provisional. Preterm birth is calculated by obstetric estimate.

Data Sources

  • Utah Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health
  • National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Preterm births (less than 37 weeks gestation) by mother's ethnicity, Utah, 2021

::chart - missing::
confidence limits

Hispanic Ethnicitypercentage of live born infantsLower LimitUpper LimitNote
Record Count: 5
Hispanic/Latino10.0%9.4%10.7%
Non-Hispanic/Latino9.8%9.5%10.1%
Unknown Ethnicity10.8%9.4%12.5%
All Ethnicities9.9%9.6%10.2%
U.S.10.5%2021 Provisional Data

Data Notes

2021 U.S. data is provisional. Preterm birth is calculated by obstetric estimate.

Data Sources

  • Utah Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health
  • National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Preterm births (less than 37 weeks gestation) by local health district, Utah and U.S., 2021

::chart - missing::
confidence limits

Local Health Districtpercentage of live born infantsLower LimitUpper LimitNote
Record Count: 15
Bear River8.9%7.9%10.0%
Central11.0%9.3%13.0%
Davis County10.3%9.4%11.2%
Salt Lake County9.8%9.4%10.3%
San Juan9.7%6.0%15.2%
Southeast8.7%6.3%11.9%
Southwest9.3%8.3%10.3%
Summit8.6%6.2%11.8%
Tooele11.1%9.3%13.1%
TriCounty12.0%9.8%14.5%
Utah County9.4%8.9%10.0%
Wasatch10.2%7.5%13.8%
Weber-Morgan11.5%10.4%12.5%
State of Utah9.9%9.6%10.2%
U.S.10.5%2021 Provisional Data

Data Notes

Note: Local health district represents district of mother's residence. 2021 U.S. data is provisional. Preterm birth is calculated by obstetric estimate.

Data Sources

  • Utah Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health
  • National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Preterm births (less than 37 weeks gestation) by Utah small area, 2019-2021 and U.S., 2021

::chart - missing::
confidence limits

Utah Small Areaspercentage of live born infantsLower LimitUpper LimitNote
Record Count: 101
Brigham City10.7%8.9%12.8%
Box Elder Co (Other) V210.5%8.0%13.7%
Tremonton10.6%8.8%12.8%
Logan V28.3%7.3%9.5%
North Logan7.8%6.4%9.5%
Cache (Other)/Rich (All) V28.9%7.2%10.8%
Hyrum9.8%7.5%12.7%
Smithfield9.8%7.9%12.2%
Ben Lomond11.2%10.0%12.4%
Weber County (East)8.6%7.2%10.3%
Morgan County11.5%8.7%15.0%
Ogden (Downtown)11.2%9.8%12.8%
South Ogden10.6%9.1%12.3%
Roy/Hooper10.4%9.1%11.8%
Riverdale9.8%8.2%11.8%
Clearfield Area/Hooper10.8%9.7%11.8%
Layton/South Weber9.9%9.0%11.0%
Kaysville/Fruit Heights8.3%6.9%10.0%
Syracuse10.2%8.6%12.1%
Centerville8.6%6.6%11.1%
Farmington7.2%5.6%9.3%
North Salt Lake9.1%7.5%11.0%
Woods Cross/West Bountiful11.6%9.4%14.4%
Bountiful9.6%8.4%11.0%
SLC (Rose Park)11.4%9.7%13.2%
SLC (Avenues)7.5%5.6%10.1%
SLC (Foothill/East Bench)8.0%6.2%10.3%
Magna10.8%9.2%12.6%
SLC (Glendale) V29.5%7.8%11.4%
West Valley (Center)10.5%9.3%11.9%
West Valley (West) V29.7%8.1%11.4%
West Valley (East) V210.1%9.0%11.4%
SLC (Downtown) V28.8%7.0%10.9%
SLC (Southeast Liberty)6.8%5.0%9.2%
South Salt Lake9.6%8.0%11.5%
SLC (Sugar House)7.5%6.1%9.2%
Millcreek (South)11.6%9.4%14.2%
Millcreek (East)7.6%5.9%9.7%
Holladay V28.6%6.8%10.8%
Cottonwood7.9%6.5%9.5%
Kearns V212.1%10.7%13.7%
Taylorsville (E)/Murray (W)11.9%10.4%13.7%
Taylorsville (West)9.1%7.8%10.7%
Murray10.5%9.1%12.1%
Midvale10.0%8.6%11.5%
West Jordan (Northeast) V29.9%8.4%11.7%
West Jordan (Southeast)10.2%8.8%11.8%
West Jordan (W)/Copperton9.6%8.4%11.0%
South Jordan V28.8%7.4%10.5%
Daybreak8.2%6.9%9.7%
Sandy (West)10.2%8.6%12.0%
Sandy (Center) V28.7%7.2%10.6%
Sandy (Northeast)10.6%8.4%13.2%
Sandy (Southeast)7.4%5.7%9.6%
Draper9.7%8.3%11.2%
Riverton/Bluffdale9.5%8.4%10.8%
Herriman9.6%8.7%10.7%
Tooele County (Other)7.7%5.9%10.0%
Tooele Valley11.1%9.9%12.5%
Eagle Mountain/Cedar Valley9.4%8.4%10.5%
Lehi9.5%8.6%10.4%
Saratoga Springs9.7%8.5%11.0%
American Fork8.8%7.7%10.0%
Alpine7.8%5.2%11.3%
Pleasant Grove/Lindon9.3%8.3%10.5%
Orem (North)9.6%8.4%11.0%
Orem (West)8.1%7.2%9.2%
Orem (East)7.5%6.0%9.3%
Provo/BYU7.6%6.5%9.0%
Provo (West City Center)9.5%8.4%10.9%
Provo (East City Center)7.7%6.5%9.1%
Salem City7.4%5.2%10.4%
Spanish Fork9.5%8.4%10.8%
Springville8.1%7.0%9.4%
Mapleton13.3%10.4%16.9%
Utah County (South) V210.1%8.3%12.1%
Payson11.1%9.6%12.9%
Park City8.9%7.0%11.4%
Summit County (East)7.5%5.5%10.2%
Wasatch County8.2%6.7%10.0%
Daggett and Uintah County12.1%10.6%13.8%
Duchesne County11.1%9.1%13.5%
Nephi/Mona8.6%6.4%11.5%
Delta/Fillmore11.6%8.8%15.2%
Sanpete Valley10.1%8.1%12.5%
Central (Other)11.2%9.3%13.4%
Richfield/Monroe/Salina11.0%8.7%13.8%
Carbon County11.5%9.3%14.2%
Emery County9.3%6.6%13.0%
Grand County5.5%3.3%9.0%
Blanding/Monticello7.4%4.8%11.3%
San Juan County (Other)8.9%5.2%14.8%
St. George9.0%8.1%9.9%
Washington Co (Other) V28.0%5.7%11.2%
Washington City9.2%7.5%11.1%
Hurricane/La Verkin8.6%6.9%10.6%
Ivins/Santa Clara9.1%6.7%12.2%
Cedar City10.1%8.9%11.5%
Southwest LHD (Other)9.6%7.8%11.7%
State of Utah9.6%9.5%9.8%
U.S.9.5%2021 Provisional Data

Data Notes

Note: Utah Small Area represents area of mother's residence. A description of the Utah Small Areas may be found on IBIS at the following URL: [https://ibis.health.utah.gov/resource/Guidelines.html]. 2021 U.S. data is provisional. Preterm birth is calculated by obstetric estimate.

Data Sources

  • Utah Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health
  • National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Preterm births (less than 37 weeks gestation), Utah and U.S., 1997-2021

::chart - missing::

BRFSS Utah vs. U.S.Yearpercentage of live born infantsNote
Record Count: 50
US Old Methodology199711.4%
US Old Methodology199811.6%
US Old Methodology199911.8%
US Old Methodology200011.6%
US Old Methodology200111.9%
US Old Methodology200212.1%
US Old Methodology200312.3%
US Old Methodology200412.5%
US Old Methodology200512.7%
US Old Methodology200612.8%
US Old Methodology200712.7%
US Old Methodology200812.3%
US Old Methodology200912.2%
UT New Methodology19979.9%
UT New Methodology199810.1%
UT New Methodology19999.2%
UT New Methodology20009.5%
UT New Methodology20019.3%
UT New Methodology20029.5%
UT New Methodology20039.5%
UT New Methodology200410.0%
UT New Methodology200510.1%
UT New Methodology20069.9%
UT New Methodology20079.5%
UT New Methodology20089.7%
UT New Methodology20099.8%
UT New Methodology20109.5%
UT New Methodology20119.4%
UT New Methodology20129.1%
UT New Methodology20139.1%
UT New Methodology20149.1%
UT New Methodology20159.3%
UT New Methodology20169.6%
UT New Methodology20179.4%
UT New Methodology20189.4%
UT New Methodology20199.7%
UT New Methodology20209.3%
UT New Methodology20219.9%
US New Methodology201010.0%
US New Methodology20119.8%
US New Methodology20129.8%
US New Methodology20139.6%
US New Methodology20149.6%
US New Methodology20159.6%
US New Methodology20169.9%
US New Methodology20179.9%
US New Methodology201810.0%
US New Methodology201910.2%
US New Methodology202010.1%2020 Final Data
US New Methodology202110.5%

Data Notes

2021 U.S. data is provisional. U.S. data prior to 2010 is based on gestational age from last menstrual period (LMP) versus gestation based on the obstetric estimate (OE). U.S. data of gestation based on the OE has been revised back to 2010. Utah data is calculated by OE. Beginning in 2010, national rates are reported using OE and are not consistent with rates reported before 2010.

Data Sources

  • Utah Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health
  • National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Page Content Updated On 12/05/2022, Published on 12/21/2022
The information provided above is from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services IBIS-PH web site (http://ibis.health.state.gov). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Thu, 28 March 2024 8:27:46 from Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.health.state.gov ".

Content updated: Wed, 21 Dec 2022 09:14:52 MST