Decline from 193.5 to 73.8 births per 100,000 total births, with largest decline seen from 2009 to 2023
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Nov. 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) — From 1998 to 2023, there was a decline in the triplet and higher-order birth rate, according to an October data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Joyce A. Martin, M.P.H., and Michelle J.K. Osterman, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, examined changes in triplet and higher-order births from 1998 to 2023 using data from the National Vital Statistics System.
The researchers noted a decline in the triplet and higher-order multiple birth rate from 193.5 to 73.8 births per 100,000 total births from 1998 to 2023, with the largest declines from 2009 to 2023. The number of triplet and higher-order births declined from 7,625 to 2,653 from 1998 to 2023. During the study period, there were declines observed in the triplet and higher-order birth rates among White non-Hispanic and Hispanic mothers (71 and 25 percent, respectively), while an increase was seen in the rate for Black non-Hispanic mothers (25 percent). For all age groups from 20 years and older, triplet and higher-order birth rates decreased from 1998 to 2023; the largest declines were seen for mothers aged 30 years and older.
“The triplet and higher-order birth rate declined 62 percent from 1998 to 2023; the number of triplet births declined by a similar amount (64 percent), and the number of quadruplet and higher-order births declined by more than three-quarters (79 percent),” the authors write.
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