Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission rates are growing in the United States, according to new data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
These increases are across “all maternal age groups from 2016 to 2023” and races. Additionally, the data shows the term the infants were when they were born, and their birthweight saw rises among all categories.
The admission numbers grew 13% during those years but paused during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The only year the rates declined was in 2022 by 1%, before reaching “a high of 9.8%” in 2023.
NICU admissions increased in 40 states over the study period. They only decreased in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
