HEALTH1 Low birthweight: Percentage of infants born with low birthweight by detailed mother’s race and Hispanic origin, 1980

HEALTH1 Low birthweight: Percentage of infants born with low birthweight by detailed mother’s race and Hispanic origin, 1980–2006

Characteristic	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006^a
Low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams or 5 lb. 8 oz.)
Total	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.7	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.9	7.1	7.0	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.3	7.3	7.4	7.5	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.7	7.8	7.9	8.1	8.2	8.3
Race and Hispanic origin^b
White, non-Hispanic	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.9	6.1	6.2	6.4	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.8	6.9	7.0	7.2	7.3	7.3
Black, non-Hispanic	12.7	12.6	12.4	12.8	12.5	12.6	12.9	13.1	13.3	13.6	13.3	13.6	13.4	13.4	13.3	13.2	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.1	13.1	13.4	13.6	13.7	14.0	14.0
Hispanic	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.2	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.8	6.9	7.0
Mexican American	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	6.0	6.0	5.9	6.0	6.1	6.2	6.3	6.4	6.5	—
Puerto Rican	9.0	9.0	9.1	8.9	8.9	8.7	9.2	9.3	9.4	9.5	9.0	9.4	9.2	9.2	9.1	9.4	9.2	9.4	9.7	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.7	10.0	9.8	9.9	—
Cuban	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.9	6.0	5.5	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.6	6.1	6.2	6.3	6.5	6.5	6.8	6.5	6.8	6.5	6.5	6.5	7.0	7.7	7.6	—
Central and South American	5.8	5.7	5.6	6.2	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.8	5.9	6.0	6.2	6.0	6.3	6.5	6.4	6.3	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.7	6.8	—
Other and unknown Hispanic	7.0	7.0	7.3	7.2	6.9	6.8	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.7	6.9	7.3	7.2	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.7	7.9	7.6	7.6	7.8	8.0	7.9	8.0	7.8	8.3	—
Asian/Pacific Islander	6.7	6.6	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.2	6.5	6.4	6.3	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.8	6.9	7.1	7.2	7.4	7.4	7.3	7.5	7.8	7.8	7.9	8.0	8.1
Chinese	5.2	5.6	5.3	5.1	5.0	5.0	4.8	5.0	4.6	4.9	4.7	5.1	5.0	4.9	4.8	5.3	5.0	5.1	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.3	5.5	—	—	—	—
Japanese	6.6	6.2	6.1	6.1	5.9	6.2	6.0	6.5	6.7	6.7	6.2	5.9	7.0	6.5	6.9	7.3	7.3	6.8	7.5	7.9	7.1	7.3	7.6	—	—	—	—
Filipino	7.4	7.5	7.2	7.3	7.8	6.9	7.4	7.3	7.2	7.4	7.3	7.3	7.4	7.0	7.8	7.8	7.9	8.3	8.2	8.3	8.5	8.7	8.6	—	—	—	—
Hawaiian	7.2	7.5	8.2	7.4	7.9	6.5	7.8	6.9	7.0	7.3	7.2	6.7	6.9	6.8	7.2	6.8	6.8	7.2	7.2	7.7	6.8	7.9	8.1	—	—	—	—
Other Asian/Pacific Islander	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.7	6.5	6.2	6.5	6.4	6.4	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.7	6.9	7.1	7.1	7.4	7.5	7.8	7.8	7.7	7.8	8.2	—	—	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	6.4	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.9	6.2	6.0	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.4	6.6	6.5	6.8	6.8	7.1	6.8	7.3	7.2	7.4	7.5	7.4	7.5

Characteristic	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006^a
Very low birthweight (less than 1,500 grams or 3 lb. 4 oz.)
Total	1.15	1.16	1.18	1.19	1.19	1.21	1.21	1.24	1.24	1.28	1.27	1.29	1.29	1.33	1.33	1.35	1.37	1.42	1.45	1.45	1.43	1.44	1.46	1.45	1.48	1.49	1.48
Race and Hispanic origin^b
White, non-Hispanic	0.86	0.87	0.89	0.90	0.88	0.90	0.89	0.91	0.89	0.93	0.93	0.94	0.94	1.00	1.01	1.04	1.08	1.12	1.15	1.15	1.14	1.17	1.17	1.18	1.20	1.21	1.20
Black, non-Hispanic	2.46	2.50	2.53	2.57	2.56	2.66	2.68	2.73	2.82	2.97	2.93	2.97	2.97	2.99	2.99	2.98	3.02	3.05	3.11	3.18	3.10	3.08	3.15	3.12	3.15	3.27	3.14
Hispanic	0.98	0.98	0.99	1.03	1.01	1.01	1.02	1.06	1.01	1.05	1.03	1.02	1.04	1.06	1.08	1.11	1.12	1.13	1.15	1.14	1.14	1.14	1.17	1.16	1.20	1.20	1.19
Mexican American	0.92	0.92	0.93	0.96	0.93	0.97	0.94	0.96	0.89	0.94	0.92	0.92	0.94	0.97	0.99	1.01	1.01	1.02	1.02	1.04	1.03	1.05	1.06	1.06	1.13	1.12	—
Puerto Rican	1.29	1.43	1.54	1.46	1.49	1.30	1.47	1.63	1.61	1.71	1.62	1.66	1.70	1.66	1.63	1.79	1.70	1.85	1.86	1.86	1.93	1.85	1.96	2.00	1.96	1.87	—
Cuban	1.02	1.17	0.90	0.97	1.04	1.18	1.09	0.97	1.17	1.13	1.20	1.15	1.24	1.23	1.31	1.19	1.35	1.36	1.33	1.49	1.21	1.27	1.15	1.37	1.30	1.50	—
Central and South American	0.99	0.93	0.83	0.99	1.04	1.01	1.04	1.02	0.97	1.05	1.05	1.02	1.02	1.02	1.06	1.13	1.14	1.17	1.23	1.15	1.20	1.19	1.20	1.17	1.19	1.19	—
Other and unknown Hispanic	1.01	0.93	1.03	1.08	1.05	0.96	1.08	1.15	1.11	1.04	1.09	1.09	1.10	1.23	1.29	1.28	1.48	1.35	1.38	1.32	1.42	1.27	1.44	1.28	1.27	1.36	—
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.92	0.93	0.91	0.88	0.93	0.85	0.86	0.83	0.84	0.90	0.87	0.85	0.91	0.86	0.93	0.91	0.99	1.05	1.10	1.08	1.05	1.03	1.12	1.09	1.14	1.14	1.12
Chinese	0.66	0.68	0.70	0.77	0.70	0.57	0.63	0.65	0.57	0.61	0.51	0.65	0.67	0.63	0.58	0.67	0.64	0.74	0.75	0.68	0.77	0.69	0.74	—	—	—	—
Japanese	0.94	0.75	0.94	0.63	0.81	0.84	0.86	0.80	0.92	0.86	0.73	0.62	0.85	0.74	0.92	0.87	0.81	0.78	0.84	0.86	0.75	0.71	0.97	—	—	—	—
Filipino	0.99	1.03	0.89	0.98	0.97	0.86	0.87	0.94	0.91	1.12	1.05	0.97	1.05	0.95	1.19	1.13	1.20	1.29	1.35	1.41	1.38	1.23	1.31	—	—	—	—
Hawaiian	1.05	1.47	1.09	1.35	1.41	1.03	1.29	1.16	1.01	1.13	0.97	1.02	1.02	1.14	1.20	0.94	0.97	1.41	1.53	1.41	1.39	1.50	1.55	—	—	—	—
Other Asian/Pacific Islander	0.96	0.95	0.94	0.86	0.94	0.91	0.87	0.82	0.88	0.89	0.92	0.87	0.93	0.89	0.93	0.91	1.04	1.07	1.12	1.09	1.04	1.06	1.17	—	—	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.92	0.89	1.06	1.07	1.02	1.01	0.99	1.13	1.00	1.00	1.01	1.07	0.95	1.05	1.10	1.10	1.21	1.19	1.24	1.26	1.16	1.26	1.28	1.30	1.28	1.17	1.28
— Not available.
^a Data for 2006 are preliminary.
^b The 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. California, Hawaii, Ohio (for December only), Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington reported multiple race data in 2003, following the revised 1997 OMB standards. In 2004, the following states began to report multiple race data: Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York State (excluding New York City), South Carolina, and Tennessee. Multiple race data were reported by 19 states in 2005: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York State (excluding New York City), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennesee, Texas, Vermont (beginning July 1), Washington, California, Hawaii, Michigan (for births at selected facilities only), Minnesota, Ohio, and Utah. In 2006, 23 states reported multiple race data: California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York State (excluding New York City), North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, Hawaii, Michigan (for births at selected facilities only), Minnesota, and Utah. The multiple-race data for these states were bridged to the single-race categories of the 1977 OMB standards for comparability with other states. In addition, note that data on race and Hispanic origin are collected and reported separately.
NOTE: Excludes live births with unknown birthweight. Low-birthweight infants weigh less than 2,500 grams at birth, or 5 lb. 8 oz. Very-low-birthweight infants weigh less than 1,500 grams, or 3 lb. 4 oz. Trend data for births to Hispanic and to White and Black, non-Hispanic women are affected by expansion of the reporting area in which an item on Hispanic origin is included on the birth certificate, as well as by immigration. These two factors affect numbers of events, composition of the Hispanic population, and maternal and infant health characteristics. The number of States in the reporting area increased from 22 in 1980 to 23 and the District of Columbia (DC) in 1983–1987, 30 and DC in 1988, 47 and DC in 1989, 48 and DC in 1990, 49 and DC in 1991–92, and all 50 States and DC from 1993 forward. Trend data for births to Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic women are also affected by immigration. Beginning in 2003, data are no longer available for Asian/Pacific Islander subgroups.
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System. Martin, J.A., Hamilton, B.E., Sutton, P.D., Ventura, S.J., Menacker, F., Kirmeyer S., and Munson, M.L. (2007). Births: Final data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Reports, 56(6). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Hamilton, B.E., Martin, J.A., and Ventura, S.J. (2007) Births: Preliminary data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 56(7). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.