This National Vital Statistics Report presents final data for 1998 on US births according to "a wide variety of maternal demographic characteristics including age, live-birth order, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, and educational attainment; maternal lifestyle and health characteristics; medical care utilization; and infant health characteristics." Also presented are birth and fertility rates according to a number of relevant demographic factors. The report states that births in the United States increased two percent in 1998, the first increase since 1990.