Return to Table of Contents Go to Map
Low Birthweight Births
Low Birthweight Births is the percent of all births in which the infant weighed
less than 2,500 grams. Birthweight is a key indicator of the health and
viability of a newborn infant. Those infants who have a birthweight under
2,500 grams (about 5 1/2 pounds) are at greater risk of death or of incurring
long-term illness or disability. The Infant Mortality Rate of infants under
1,500 grams is more than 60 times higher than for infants weighing 2,500 grams
or more. Even infants weighing between 1,500 and 2,499 grams have an infant
mortality rate more than five times as high as normal weight infants.
As an infant health measure, birthweight has many advantages. It is available
for every infant and it is entirely objective. The data are continuously
distributed, ranging from less than 500 grams to more than 6,000 grams.
Low Birthweight Births are calculated as a percent of all births. For example,
of the 36,831 births in Arkansas in 1998, 3,270 weighed less than 2,500 grams.
The Percent Low Birthweight = 3,270 / 36,831 X 100 = 8.9 percent. In the
United States the rate of low birthweight rose from 7.5 in 1997 to 7.6
percent for 1998.
Low Birthweight Births in Arkansas are clustered principally in a band
stretching from Nevada County southwest up to Mississippi County in the
northeast corner. For the 1994-1998 period, the percentage of Low Birthweight
Births ranged from a low of 5.3 percent in Montgomery County to a high of 12.7
percent in Prairie County.
ADH Management Area 9 had the highest average proportion of Low Birthweight
Births from 1994-1998 at 10.7 percent. Health Management Area 1 had the
lowest average at 6.8 percent.
For Arkansas, the long-term trend in low birthweight has been extremely stable.
From 1990 through 1995, the percent of Low Birthweight Births remained unchanged
at 8.2 percent and rose only slightly in 1996 and 1997, at 8.5 and 8.3 percent,
respectively. The Low Birthweight Births rose significantly in 1998, however,
with 8.9 percent of all births being Low Birthweight Births. Nationally, 1997
and 1998 Low Birthweight Births have continued being the highest reported in
more than two decades. The National Center for Health Statistics attributes
much of the increase to a rise in Low Birthweight Births among Whites.
There is a much higher incidence of low birthweight births among Blacks than
among Whites, both nationally and in Arkansas. For Black Arkansans, the
five-year average percent of low birthweight births was 13.2, compared to 7.1
for White Arkansans. One contributing factor for the higher rate among Black
infants is that they are much more likely to have been born prematurely. Black
mothers are also more likely to have a low weight gain during pregnancy.
Nationally, Low Birthweight Births to Black mothers have stayed constant at
13.0 since 1996. In Arkansas, however, Low Birthweight Births to Black mothers
has been rising since 1993.
Return to Table of Contents Go to Map