National Maternal and Infant Health Survey

The National Maternal and Infant Health Survey (NMIHS) was a longitudinal study of factors related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics in 1988 and 1991, the latter is often referred to as the Longitudinal Follow-Up. The NMIHS was conducted to augment data available in vital statistics records, collecting information on maternal sociodemographic characteristics, pregnancy history, health status, and health care types and sources. The vital statistics records included birth, fetal death, and infant death records. The NMIHS was the first national survey conducted in the United States to collect data simultaneously on births, fetal deaths, and infant deaths.

[Page 717]The NMIHS data were collected by questionnaires mailed to a nationally representative survey sample of women who gave birth or had ...