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Percentage of Low Birthweight Live, Term, Singleton Births by County, New Mexico, 2017-2021

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Percentage of Low Birthweight Live, Term, Singleton Births by County, New Mexico, 2017-2021

  • **The estimate has been suppressed because the number of events and population size are small and not appropriate for publication, or it could be used to calculate the number in a cell that has been suppressed.
  • #This count or rate is statistically unstable (RSE >0.30), and may fluctuate widely across time periods due to random variation (chance). Please use caution in interpreting this value, or combine years, areas, or age groups to increase the population size.

Why Is This Important?

Low birthweight (LBW) affects about one in every 13 babies born each year in the United States. Studies have shown that LBW may predict future morbidity and mortality. Compared to infants of normal weight, LBW infants may be at increased risk of perinatal morbidity, infections, and longer-term consequences of impaired development such as delayed motor and social development or learning disabilities. Exposure to PM2.5 and ozone, and to a lesser degree, heat, have been linked with an increased risk of low birthweight (Bekkar et al., 2020). Several other environmental exposures have been implicated as risk factors for LBW (e.g., arsenic, solid fuels, polychlorinated biphenyls) but more evidence is needed to establish causality (CDC NEPHT Program, 2022). There are large disparities in the prevalence of LBW by race and ethnicity, especially between Black and White individuals. On average between 2018 and 2020, the low birthweight rate in the US was highest for Black infants (13.8%), followed by Asian/Pacific Islanders (8.6%), American Indian/Alaska Natives (8.0%), and Whites (7.0%) (March of Dimes, 2023).

Definition

Number of singleton, term live births with a birthweight of less than 2,500 grams in a given year, divided by the total number of singleton, term live births in the same year.

Data Notes

Data for combined years 2017-2021.

Data Source

Birth Certificate Data, Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS), Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health.
(https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/bvrhs/vrp/)

How the Measure is Calculated

  • Numerator:

    Number of singleton, term live births with a birthweight of less than 2,500 grams.

  • Denominator:

    Total number of singleton, term live births.

Data Issues

Birth certificate information is submitted electronically by hospital medical records staff who use standard mother and facility worksheets and medical charts to collect the needed information. Training of hospital staff is provided by the Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS). The birth certificate information is reviewed by BVRHS for completeness and consistency with state law and NMDOH and national guidelines. BVRHS will contact hospital staff for clarification of missing, inconsistent or incorrect entries. CDC's National Center for Health Statistics provides feedback to BVRHS on data quality and the NMDOH provides feedback to the hospitals to improve data quality and training.

Health Topic Pages Related to: Birth Outcomes - Percentage of Low Birthweight Live Term Singleton Births

Indicator Data Last Updated On 02/01/2023, Published on 05/23/2023
Environmental Health Epidemiology Bureau, Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health, 1190 S. Saint Francis Drive, Suite 1300, Santa Fe, NM 87505, Srikanth Paladugu, Bureau Chief, Srikanth.Paladugu@doh.nm.gov, or Chelsea Langer, Environmental Epidemiologist Supervisor, Chelsea.Langer@doh.nm.gov