LOW BIRTH WEIGHT
In 2000, 308,470 babies (7.6 percent of all live
births) were of low birth weight, weighing less than
2,500 grams, or 5 pounds 8 ounces, at birth. This
rate was unchanged from the previous two years.
The percentage of newborns born at low birth weight
rose from a low of 6.8 percent in 1985 to 7.6 percent
in 1998 and currently rivals the rates reported nearly
thirty years ago. Some of the incidence of low birth
weight is due to an increase in the proportion of
multiple births, as these infants are at a much greater
risk of weighing less than 2,500 grams at birth. In
2000, only 6 percent of singleton newborns weighed
less than 2,500 grams, compared to 23 percent of twins,
triplets and higher-order multiples.
The black low birth weight rate remains nearly twice
the white rate. The low birth weight rate among infants
born to black mothers has declined by 4 percent from
a high of 13.6 percent in 1991, while the rate among
infants of white mothers has increased 14 percent
over the same period. This is largely due to the higher
prevalence of multiple births among white women.
Low birth weight is the factor most closely associated
with neonatal mortality. Low birth weight infants
are more likely to experience long-term disability
or to die during the first year of life than are infants
of normal weight.
In 2000, the percent of low birth weight infants
born to smokers (11.9 percent) was substantially higher
than among nonsmokers (7.2 percent). This nearly twofold
differential has been observed since 1989 among both
black and white infants. Other factors associated
with increased risk of low birth weight include maternal
poverty and low levels of educational attainment.
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