The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) gathers information on family life, marriage and divorce, pregnancy, infertility, use of contraception, and men's and women's health. The survey is authorized by a Federal law, Section 306(b) 1 (h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 USC 242), which asks the National Center for Heatlh Statistics (NCHS) to collect ?statistics on family formation, growth, and dissolution.? The survey provides accurate national statistics on critical issues like: People making choices about school, work, and having a family Women looking for a safe and effective way to space their children The health care that men and women get, including family planning and reproductive health Risk for sexually transmitted infections Child care services used by working parents How programs for families and children are working The survey results are used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and others to plan health services and health education programs, and to do statistical studies of families, fertility, and health. In late June of 2006, the NSFG began interviewing for Cycle 7. The survey is based on a sample of the household population of the United States, 15-44 years of age. Cycle 7 is being conducted as a continuous survey, with interviews being done 48 weeks of every year. Each year of interviewing will be a nationally representative sample, and samples can be accumulated across years. As of June 2007, over 5,000 interviews have been done. The first public use data file is expected to be released in late 2009, based on at least 11,000 interviews conducted between June 2006 and December of 2008. After that, data files would be released approximately every two years.
