QuickStats: Rate of Triplet and Higher-Order Multiple Births,*,† by Age of Mother — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 1998 and 2022
Weekly / January 5, 2024 / 72(5253);1394
* Per 100,000 births.
† Triplet and higher-order multiple births are births in triplet, quadruplet, quintuplet, and higher-order deliveries.
The triplet and higher-order multiple birth rate declined from an all-time high of 193.5 per 100,000 total births in 1998 to 78.9 in 2022. From 1998 to 2022, triplet and higher-order birth rates increased among mothers aged <20 years (from 17.6 to 27.5) but declined among mothers aged ≥20 years. In both 1998 and 2022, triplet and higher-order multiple birth rates were lowest among mothers aged <20 years and highest among mothers aged ≥40 years (517.6 in 1998 and 179.0 in 2022) but differences across the age groups narrowed from 1998 to 2022.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Natality Data, 1998 and 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/births.htm
Reported by: Joyce A. Martin, MPH, jcm9@cdc.gov.
For more information on this topic, CDC recommends the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/art/key-findings/multiple-births.html
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Rate of Triplet and Higher-Order Multiple Births, by Age of Mother — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 1998 and 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024;72:1394. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm725253a6.
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