New Data About Very Low Birthweight Added to Kidsdata.org

Data about prenatal care and low birthweight were updated on kidsdata.org this week, and a new measure of infant health — infants born at very low birthweight — was added.

Very low birthweight infants are those born at less than 1,500 grams; or about 3.3 pounds. Placer, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma are among the counties with the lowest percentages of infants born at very low birthweight. Overall in California, 1.2% of infants were born at very low birthweight in 2009.

Low birthweight babies account for a higher percentage of infants — those born at less than 2,500 grams, or 5 pounds, 5 ounces. In most counties, the percentage of babies born at a low birthweight in 2009 was lower than the state average of 7%. However, in Los Angeles County, as well as some other populous counties, the rate was slightly higher than in California as a whole. Low birthweight babies face six to 10 times the risk of infant mortality, and are at increased risk of long-term disabilities.

The data about prenatal care refer to the percentage of infants whose mothers received prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy, and kidsdata.org offers 15 years of data, making it easy to pinpoint trends over time. In 2009, the percentage of mothers receiving prenatal care inched up slightly to 81%,  after four years of decline.

Tags: New Data

Posted by Felicity Simmons

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