Trends in the Incidence of High-Risk Newborns Based on a New Conceptual Framework - Beijing Municipality, China, 2013-2022.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC?: A new conceptual term, small and vulnerable newborns (SVN), bringing preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), or low birth weight (LBW) together is being advocated for assessing whether a child is at high risk.

WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT?: According to the new conceptual term, the increasing incidence of high-risk newborns (from 9.82% to 10.96%) has been observed among 2,005,408 newborns over the period from 2013 to 2022, which is higher than using any of the three definitions of SVN. Maternal age ≥35, primiparity, and multiple births are high risks for SVN.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE?: The new conceptual framework should be used to better assess the number of high-risk newborns. Attention should be paid to multiple births to prevent preterm-related SVN. To reduce term newborns who are SGA, we need to be concerned not only with multiple pregnancies but also with first-time mothers.