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Health Status > Infants
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VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT
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In 2004, 1.5 percent of live births were infants
of very low birth weight (less than 1,500 grams, or 3 pounds
4 ounces). This has slowly climbed from a rate of just over
one percent in 1980.
Because the chance of survival increases
as birth weight increases, very low birth weight infants
have the lowest survival rates. Infants born at such low
birth weights are approximately 100 times more likely to
die in the first year of life than are infants of normal
birth weight. Very low birth weight infants who survive
are at a significantly increased risk of severe problems,
including physical and visual difficulties, developmental
delays, and cognitive impairment requiring increased levels
of medical, educational, and parental care.
The overall rate of very low birth weight
among non-Hispanic Black newborns (3.1 percent) is over
two and a half times greater than the rate among most other
racial and ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic Whites
(1.2 percent), Hispanics (1.2 percent), and Asian/Pacific
Islanders (1.1 percent). This difference is a major contributor
to the disparity in infant mortality rates between non-Hispanic
Black infants and infants of other racial/ethnic groups.
>
Line Chart: Very Low Birth Weight Among
Infants, by Race/Ethnicity: 1985-2004
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Child Health USA 2006 is not copyrighted. Readers are free to duplicate and use all or part of the information contained on this page. Suggested Citation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Child Health USA 2006. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006. |