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Selected Features
In this section, some of the major maternal and child health indicators for 1997 are
identified and discussed. It is hoped that this discussion will orient the reader to the
data presented in this report.
Natality
Arkansas resident live births increased slightly from 36,356 in 1996 to 36,450 in
1997, a rise of 0.3 percent. The Crude Live Birth Rate declined from 15.1 to 14.4 per
1,000 persons.
All live births have been classified by race of mother into white, black, and other. Live
births increased slightly for whites in 1997. Among white mothers, the number of
resident live births increased 0.4 percent, from 27,696 in 1996 to 27,814 in 1997.
Conversely, live births to blacks decreased in 1997. The number of live births to black
mothers decreased by 1.1 percent, from to 7,897 to 7,811.
Live births to unmarried mothers increased 0.7 percent from 1996 to 1997. In 1996,
there were 12,157 live births to unmarried mothers, representing 33.4 percent of all
live births, while in 1997 there were 12,245 live births to unmarried mothers,
accounting for 33.6 percent of all live births. The increase occurred among white and
black mothers alike. In 1997, 22.6 percent of all white live births were to unmarried
mothers (compared with 22.3 percent in 1996), while among blacks, 73.3 percent of
live births were to unmarried mothers (compared with 73.0 percent in 1996).
The number of live births to adolescent mothers (under the age of twenty) decreased
from 1996 to 1997. In 1997, there were 7,008 births to adolescent mothers, a
decrease of 2.4 percent from the 7,178 reported in 1996. As a proportion of all live
births, births to adolescent mothers declined slightly from 19.7 percent in 1996 to
19.2 percent in 1997. Among white mothers, 16.3 percent were adolescents (down
from 17.0% in 1996), while 30.2 percent of black mothers were adolescents (up from
30.0% in 1996).
Low birthweight live births decreased slightly in 1997, accounting for 3,033 or 8.3
percent of all resident live births, compared to 3,078 or 8.5 percent of all resident live
births in 1996. The proportion of white infants with low birthweight stayed the same
in 1997 at 7.1 percent. The comparable figures among black infants showed a
decrease to 12.7 percent in 1997 from 13.6 percent in 1996.
The proportion of live births delivered by Cesarean section decreased slightly from
1996 to 1997. The 8,983 deliveries by C-section in 1997 resulted in a Cesarean
section rate of 24.6 per 100 deliveries, down compared to a 1996 Cesarean section
rate of 25.4 (with 9,240 C-sections performed). The majority of Cesarean section
deliveries are primary. In 1997, 60.4 percent of all Cesareans were primary sections.
Mortality
The Arkansas infant mortality rate decreased from 9.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in
1996 to 8.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1997. There were 337 infant deaths in
1996, compared with 316 in 1997. The neonatal mortality rate decreased from 5.6
deaths per 1,000 live births in 1996 to 5.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1997. The
postneonatal mortality rate also showed a slight decrease, from 3.7 in 1996 to 3.6 in
1997. The Arkansas infant mortality rate remained higher than the national average
in 1997 with a rate of 8.7 deaths per 1,000 live births compared to a national rate of
7.1. The Arkansas average was higher than the national average in both neonatal
(5.1 versus 4.7) and postneonatal (3.6 versus 2.4) mortality.
The infant mortality rate among blacks decreased between 1996 and 1997, falling
from 13.7 to 11.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. The decline reflected a decrease in
postneonatal mortality, which fell from 5.6 in 1996 to 3.5 in 1997. The rate of
neonatal deaths for blacks remained the same at 8.1 per 1,000 live births. Despite the
decline, infant mortality rates remained higher for blacks than whites in 1997 at 11.5
versus 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births. The infant mortality rate among whites
decreased in 1997, declining from 8.0 to 6.3, due to decreases in both neonatal and
postneonatal mortality. The neonatal mortality rate decreased from 4.9 in 1996 to 4.2
in 1997. Similarly, postneonatal mortality declined from 3.1 in 1996 to 2.1 in 1997.
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