Birth Certificates and

the Evolution of
Population Health

Photo by Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

12 Revisions to the Birth Certificate since 1900

33 60+
in 1900 in 2003
Early Date and address of birth; multiple gestation; mother's age and
1900s race, legitimacy, paternal name and age, previous live births

1949 Birthweight and length of pregnancy added

1968 1960 - birth of neonatology; dating of pregnancy by last

menstrual period added; inclusion of questions on prenatal care
 Changed from “legitimate” to mothers marital status; Apgar scores added;
1979 after Roe v Wade in 1973, termination of pregnancy added

Gestational age, maternal medical risk factors, Hispanic origin, smoking

1989 and alcohol use, methods and complications of delivery added

2003 More details on smoking, obesity (before and after pregnancy), infertility,
nutrition, breastfeeding at discharge, maternal morbidities added
Perinatal Regions in
North Carolina
 REGION 2

Alexander Alleghany Guildford

Ashe Avery Iredell
Burke Caldwell Randolph
Catawba Davidson Rockingham
Davie Forsyth Stokes
Rowan Yadkin Wilkes
Surry Watauga
REGION 1

Buncombe Cherokee REGION 3

Clay Graham Anson Cabarrus
Haywood Henderson Cleveland Gaston
Jackson Macon Lincoln Mecklenburg
Madison McDowell Stanly Union
Mitchell Polk
Rutherford Swain
Translyvania Yancey
 Region 4
Alamance Caswell
Chatham Durham
Franklin Granville
Johnston Lee
Orange Person
Vance Wake
Warren

Region 6
Region 5
Beaufort Bertie Camden Martin
Bladen Brunswick
Carteret Chowan Craven Onslow
Columbus Cumberland
Currituck Dare Duplin Perquimans
Harnett Hoke
Edgecombe Gates Greene Washington
Montgomery Moore
Halifax Hertford Hyde Martin
New Hanover Pender
Jones Lenoir Pasquotank Onslow
Richmond Robeson
Nash Northampton Tyrrell Wilson
Sampson Scotland
Pamlico Pitt Wayne
 A Typical Day in North Carolina in 2017

Live Births Deaths Marriages Divorces

329 255 193 88
National Health Statistics