2002 ARKANSAS VITAL STATISTICS HIGHLIGHTS
Live Births
Arkansas had 37,456
resident births in 2002.
-- 5.8 %
of all resident births occurred outside the state of Arkansas
Birth Rate: 13.8
compared to a U.S. rate of 13.9 (births per 1,000 population)
There were a
total of 5,782 births to teenagers (15-19)
-- The number of births to
teenagers dropped by 265 between 2001 to 2002
-- 15.4%
of all live resident births were to mothers aged 19 and under
-- Of all these
teen mothers, almost 73.1% (4155) were unmarried
Percent of
Births to Unmarried Mothers: 37.2% (13,921 births), compared to a
national percent of 34.0
Percent Low
Birthweight: 8.6 compared to a national rate of 7.8
-- 3,207
babies were born weighing less than 2500 grams (5 ˝ pounds).
8.5 percent
(3,187) of all Arkansas resident live births were born to mothers of Hispanic
origin.
22.18
percent (8,311) of all births were to mothers with less than a high school degree
or equivalent
78.4
percent (29,372) of mothers received prenatal care in their first trimester,
compared to 83.7% nationally
Deaths
Number of
Resident Deaths: 28,458
-- 6%
of all resident deaths occurred outside the state of Arkansas
Crude Death
Rate –
1050.1
Crude Death
Rates for the Ten Leading Causes of Death in Arkansas (per 100,000 population):
Heart Disease:
306.4
Cancer: 231.0
Stroke: 82.2
Chronic Lower
Respiratory Diseases: 52.9
Accidents: 48.0
Diabetes: 29.1
Pneumonia/Influenza:
28.7
Nephritis,
Nephrotic syndrome, and Nephrosis: 22.1
Alzheimer’s
Disease: 20.3
Septicemia: 18.5
Fetal Deaths
Arkansas had 264
Resident Fetal Deaths (> 20 weeks and/or > 350 grams)
The leading
cause of fetal deaths resulted from “Conditions Originating in Perinatal
Period”, comprising 89% of the total (235 deaths).
The fetal
death rate was still higher for blacks (10.8) than for whites (6.2),
but the rate for whites increased from 6.1 in 2001 (rates are per 1,000
live births plus fetal deaths).
Infant Deaths
There were 312
infant mortalities to Arkansas residents in 2002.
The Arkansas
infant mortality rate was 8.3, compared to a U.S. rate of 6.9.
Black
Arkansans had an infant mortality rate of 13.8, compared to a white rate
of 7.2.
Approximately 61.5% (192) of
the 312 Arkansans who died before their first birthday were less than 28 days
old (neonatal deaths).