2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book Online >
Summary and Findings
Percent Low-Birthweight Babies
Babies weighing less than 2,500 grams (about 5.5 pounds) at birth have a high probability of experiencing developmental problems. Low-birthweight infants are at greater risk of dying within the first year of life and of experiencing both short-term and long-term disability than those with a higher birthweight. In fact, the risk of dying during the first year of life for low-birthweight babies (59 deaths per 1,000 births) is nearly 26 times that for babies of normal birthweight (2.3 deaths per 1,000 births). Although recent increases in multiple births have strongly influenced the rise in rates of low-birthweight babies, rates have also been higher among infants delivered in singleton deliveries.
- Nationally, 331,772 babies were born weighing less than 2,500 grams in 2004. Low-birthweight babies were 8.1 percent of all births in 2004, compared to 7.6 percent in 2000. This represents a 7 percent increase in low-weight births over the 2000 to 2004 period and is now at the highest level since 1969.
- Between 2000 and 2004, the percent of low-birthweight babies worsened in 49 states and stayed the same in 1 state, Tennessee. Only the District of Columbia improved on this indicator.
- Among the states, the incidence of lowbirthweight babies in 2004 ranged from a low of 6.0 percent in Alaska and Oregon to a high of 11.6 percent in Mississippi.
- The percent of black low-weight births (13.4 percent) is approximately twice as high as any other racial or ethnic group examined.
