Vital Statistics, Natality Data, 1995
               Public-use Data File Documentation


            WARNING - DATA USE RESTRICTIONS!
                       Read Carefully before Using

The Public Health Service Act (Section 308 (d)) provides that the data collected by the National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), may be
used only for the purpose of health statistical reporting and analysis.

Any effort to determine the identity of any reported case is prohibited by this law.

NCHS does all it can to assure that the identity of data subjects cannot be disclosed.  All direct
identifiers, as well as any characteristics that might lead to identification, are omitted from the
data set.  Any intentional identification or disclosure of a person or establishment violates the
assurances of confidentiality given to the providers of the information.  Therefore, users will:

       1.  Use the data in this data set for statistical reporting and
           analysis only.

       2.  Make no use of the identity of any person or establishment
           discovered inadvertently and advise the Director, NCHS, of any
           such discovery.

       3.  Not link this data set with individually identifiable data from
           other NCHS or non-NCHS data sets.

By using these data, you signify your agreement to comply with the 
above-stated statutorily based requirements.
                      
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Introduction

The 1995 Natality, Public-use Data File Documentation contains the necessary               
documentation, including file content and technical information, needed to access the natality
data from the 1995 Natality Public-use Data File.

The Natality public-use data file includes all births occurring within the United States. Births
occurring to U.S. citizens outside the United States are not included.   The 1995 file includes one
record for each birth in the sample.  Starting in 1989, the detailed file format includes data for
cities, counties, and metropolitan areas with a population of 100,000 or more. Date of infant's
birth and dates of birth of the mother and father and birth certificate numbers are excluded from
this file. Beginning in 1994, the same detail is available on a separate file for Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, and Guam.

More details about Natality data from the National Vital Statistics System is available on the
NCHS Home Page at:  http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/about/major/natality/natality.htm and
http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/products/catalogs/subject/natality/natality.htm

The documentation file is in WordPerfect 6.1 format and is located in:
ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NVSS/Natality

                1995 Natality Data File 
                                                                      Size (bytes)
   File Name                  File Description         Uncompressed
  
  NAT95DO2.WPD       Data File Documentation               281kb

For questions, suggestions, or comments concerning Natality data, or to receive additional
information about other NCHS data products and services contact the:

                   Data Dissemination Branch, NCHS
                   6525 Belcrest Rd.
                   Hyattsville, MD 20782
                   Tel: (301) 436-8500 
                   E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov
                   Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww    

                                   
Statement of Authenticity

This material has been cleared for public distribution by CDC/ATSDR and will be authentic if
obtained directly from ftp.cdc.gov.  CDC/ATSDR takes all effort to assure the authenticity of
electronically distributed documents.  However, in all instances where the electronic and official
agency record differ, the authenticity of the official agency record is controlling.