DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36469.v1
title: Natality Detail File, 2012 [United States]
title: Version 1

description: The Natality Detail File, 2012 [United States] provides information on live births in the United States during the calendar year 2012. The natality data in these files are a component of the vital statistics collection effort maintained by the federal government. Birth data is limited to births occurring in the United States to United States residents and nonresidents. Births occurring to United States citizens outside of the United States are not included in this data collection.
Dataset 1 contains data on births occurring within the United States, while Dataset 2 contains data on births occurring in the United States territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Variables describe the place of delivery, who was in attendance, and medical and health data such as the method of delivery, prenatal care, tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy, pregnancy history, medical risk factors, and infant health characteristics.
Birth and fertility rates and other statistics related to this study can be found in an Appendix to the User Guide, under Detailed Technical Notes.

Demographic variables include the child's sex and month and year of birth and the parents' ages, races, ethnicities, education levels, as well as the mother's marital status and residency status.
description: This report presents detailed data on numbers and characteristics of births in 2012, birth and fertility rates, maternal demographic and health characteristics, place and attendant at birth, and infant health characteristics within the United States.
description: The data are not weighted and no weight variables are present in the dataset.
description: One-hundred percent of birth certificates in calendar year 2012.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: United States National File
DS2: United States Territories File
description: Live births in the United States and its territories during the calendar year 2012. Smallest Geographic Unit: County
description: record abstractsThis data file includes data based on both the 1989 Revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth (unrevised) and the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth (revised). However, in general only data comparable between 1989 and 2003 revisions and data exclusive to the 2003 revision are included.The territories file, which includes data on births occurring in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, includes limited geographic detail. Information identifying individual territories and counties with populations of 100,000 or more by place of occurrence and residence are available in this file.Beginning with the 2005 data year, the micro-data natality file no longer includes geographic detail (e.g., state or county of birth). Information on the NCHS data release policy is available through the National Center for Health Statistics Web site.Beginning with the 2007 data year, data items such as maternal anemia, ultrasound, and alcohol use are no longer available in public use files.Beginning with the 2011 data year, unrevised data for educational attainment, prenatal care, and type of vaginal and cesarean delivery are no longer included in the data file. Data for these items from the 1989 revision are not comparable with the data from the 2003 revision.For additional information on the Natality Detail File Series, please visit the National Center for Health Statistics National Center for Health Statistics Web site.