LOW BIRTH WEIGHT AND INFANT MORTALITY IN ESSEX COUNTY:
This project is basically looking at the relationship
between low birth weight and infant mortality in Essex County, NJ.
In doing so, I looked at different factor that are associated to low birth
weight infants. Some of these factors are onset of prenatal care; the
earlier a woman seeks prenatal care during their pregnancy the lower her risks
are of giving birth to a low birth weight infant. Maternal age, Babies
born to pregnant women under the age of 17 and over the age of 35 are at
higher risk for being low birth weight and having increased health problems.
Maternal race, Black women are at a higher risk than any other race of women
of giving birth to low birth weight infants. Maternal smoking, maternal
smoking has been linked to low birth weight infants and is estimated to be
associated with 20% to 30% of all LBW births in the U.S. Last but not
least, maternal education, access to health care, and tobacco, alcohol, and
drug use.
What is low birth weight (LBW)?
Low birth weight describes infants who are born at full term (37 weeks
or later) but weight less than 5 pounds. LBW is the result of intrauterine
growth restriction, a delayed growth within the uterus, which then leads
to low birth weight.
Statistic about LBW:
· Many research have been done on the relationship
between birth weight and infant mortality, all these studies have found that
birth weight is closely related to infant mortality.
· One of the primary causes of the death of infant
during the first year of life is low birth weight (less than 2500 grams)
· Each year in the United States, low birth-weight
babies make up roughly 7.5% of live births.
· The trend in low birth weight has been fluctuating
for several years. In 1995 we hit 5.5%, in 1997 we climbed to 6.7%.
Low Birth Weight and Infant Mortality in Essex County:
Essex County has the highest percentage of women giving
birth to low birth weight infants. Essex county is also among the counties
with the highest rare of infant mortality. Why is this so? As
I looked at the different variables that can play a role in women giving
birth to LBW infants, such as onset of prenatal care, maternal age, maternal
race, mother’s educational attainment, all these factors were present in Essex
County. All these factors affected the outcome of mothers giving
birth to LBW infants negatively, which leads me to conclude that these factors
could be the cause of the high rate of LBW infant and infant mortality rate
in Essex county.
