Deliveries in U.S. military and non-federal hospitals, 1980

To compare deliveries in military and non-federal hospitals, 1980 data from the National Discharge Survey and military inpatient data systems were analyzed. Although women delivering in the two populations were similar, in military hospitals a higher percentage were white (73 per cent vs. 70 per cent) and in their twenties (72 per cent vs. 64 per cent) than in civilian hospitals. A higher proportion of deliveries in non-federal hospitals were uncomplicated (49 per cent) than in military hospitals (39 per cent) regardless of maternal age or race. In Department of Defense hospitals average stays were longer (3.3 vs. 3.0 days) for uncomplicated deliveries than in civilian hospitals, costing an estimated additional $4.0 million.