There’s an old saying “In God we trust, everyone else brings data.” This statement embodies the critical role that accurate data plays in creating any systems change. A recent article from members of the Voices for Healthy Kids Policy Research Advisory Group, published in Nature Medicine on January 31, 2025, highlights a critical issue in maternal and infant health: the need for improved birth record data collection. Accurate and comprehensive data is essential for understanding health disparities and ensuring equitable healthcare solutions. However, inconsistencies in data collection and reporting continue to create gaps that may obscure the true extent of health inequities.
The Problem: Incomplete and Inconsistent Data
Birth records serve as the foundation for maternal and infant health research, yet they often fail to capture complete racial and ethnic demographics. Currently, the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) relies on parental self-reported race and ethnicity data, with maternal data often used as a proxy for infant identity. However, this approach is problematic, especially given the growing multiracial and multiethnic population in the U.S. The report highlights several key concerns, including:
Missing Paternal Data: Many birth records lack paternal race and ethnicity information, leading to an incomplete understanding of an infant’s race and ethnicity and health disparities.
Data Misclassification: In some cases, racial and ethnic identities are reassigned based on standardized coding systems, potentially distorting health outcome analyses.
Institutional Variability: Differences in hospital procedures and staff training can lead to inconsistent data entry, affecting the reliability of birth records.
Steps Toward Improvement
The article emphasizes the importance of refining data collection practices to better reflect the diverse populations they serve. Encouragingly, federal standards are evolving. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently updated race and ethnicity data reporting requirements, creating a single question format, providing descriptions with examples and adding a separate Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) category. While this marks progress, additional steps are needed:
State-Level Innovation: Some states, like Massachusetts, have implemented disaggregated racial and ethnic reporting to capture more detailed data. Expanding such efforts nationwide could improve accuracy.
Training and Oversight: Healthcare professionals and clerical staff should receive training to ensure proper data collection, reducing errors and inconsistencies.
Government-Academic Partnerships: Research collaborations can help identify gaps in data reporting and develop evidence-based solutions for more inclusive birth records.
Moving Forward
The article underscores the urgent need to modernize birth data collection to support better maternal and infant health outcomes. By prioritizing equity-driven data reforms, policymakers and health professionals can help ensure that no parent or child is made invisible by inadequate recordkeeping. The Voices for Healthy Kids Policy Research Advisory Group calls on stakeholders at all levels, government agencies, healthcare providers, and researchers—to commit to these improvements and advance maternal and infant health equity. See report published in Natures Medicine here.