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August 8, 2008

Immediate risk — 08/11/08

Area mothers-to-be need to do more to assure healthy babies

Anonymous The Daily Independent Fri Aug 08, 2008, 03:03 PM EDT

A new national study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation makes one fact perfectly clear: Too many infants born in Kentucky are beginning life at a disadvantage by being too small and/or premature.

Tara Grieshop-Goodwin, deputy director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, believes both those negatives could be reversed if more Kentucky women would cease smoking when pregnant, more women received prenatal care, and fewer teenagers became mothers.

Lest one think this is a problem limited to other parts of Kentucky, the statistics for Boyd, Greenup, Carter and Lawrence counties mirror those for all of Kentucky. In fact, if anything, the problem of premature and low birth-weight newborns may be more severe in this corner of the state than in Kentucky as a whole.

The new report — “The Right Start for America’s Newborns: City and State Trends” — ranks Kentucky 39th among the 50 states in its percent of low-weight births. Nearly one in 10 infants (9.1 percent) born in Kentucky has a low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds). That’s higher than the national average of 8.2 percent.

However, in Boyd County, 12 percent of the babies born between 2003 and 2005 weighed less than 5.5 pounds. In Lawrence County, 16 percent of the babies born between 2003 and 2005 had a low birth weight, while 8 percent of the newborns in Carter County and 10 percent of the infants in Greenup County had a low birth weight.

Statistics clearly show that children born at a low birthweight face increased risk for serious health problems as newborns, as well as long-term disabilities, and even death.

Grieshop-Goodwin used the latest report to again advocate for an increase in Kentucky’s cigarette tax: “We know that cigarette smoking by a mother during pregnancy is the single most important cause of low birthweight babies.

Kentucky has very high rates of women smoking while pregnant – as high as 1 in 2 in some counties. Research shows that pregnant women are highly cost-responsive to increases in the price of cigarettes. An increase in the cigarette tax would really help to reduce that high number and in turn, improve birth outcomes. ”

Twenty-six percent of Kentucky mothers reported smoking during their pregnancies, but the numbers are even higher in northeastern Kentucky with about a third of the new mothers in Boyd County (32 percent), Carter County (31 percent), Greenup County (27 percent) and Lawrence County (34 percent) admitting to smoking during their pregnancies.

Kentucky ranks 46th among the states in its percentage of babies born preterm, defined as before 38 weeks gestation. Of more concern is the fact that Kentucky’s rate of preterm births is worsening at a faster pace than the U.S. rate. And again, the statistics are worse in this part of Kentucky.

In Kentucky, 15.2 percent of newborns were preterm, compared to 12.7 percent nationwide. In Boyd County, 18 percent — or almost one in five — of the babies born between 2003 and 2005 were preterm. In Lawrence County, the rate was an even more alarming 24 percent of all births, while 16 percent of the births in Carter County and 17 percent in Greenup County were preterm.

Babies who are born preterm face a higher risk of being hospitalized, having long-term health problems, and of dying. Preterm labor can happen to any pregnant woman, however several factors increase a woman’s risk, including poor environmental conditions and lack of prenatal care.

Kentucky ranks 40th in teen births as a percent of all births. Of all babies born in Kentucky in 2005, 12.1 percent were born to teen mothers. Boyd County fares worse than the state as a whole on teen births but better on repeat teen births. Between 2003 and 2005, the Boyd County rate of teen births was 53 per 1,000 girls ages 15-19, higher than the state rate of 50 per 1,000. However, the rate of repeat teen births was lower in Boyd County (15 percent of all teen births) than for Kentucky (19 percent).

“We have to consider how far-reaching the consequences of poor birth outcomes are, not only to a child but to all of us in Kentucky,” says Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “Poor birth outcomes are linked to higher health care costs, worse educational outcomes, and more infant deaths. We can do better for our newborns in Kentucky.”

Yes, we can do better, but that will require women making better lifestyle choices, improving access to medical care — particularly in rural areas — and waiting longer before becoming pregnant. In all these key areas, Kentucky lags behind the rest of the nation.

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