Funding provided by 
 Red > 10.32 Green <= 13.95 In-between = Yellow Unit: percent View Legend | Preterm Births
| ||||||||
| What is this Indicator? The percent of mothers who had a live birth before 37 weeks gestation, annually. | |||||||||
| Why this is important: Babies born premature are likely to require specialized medical care, and oftentimes must stay in intensive care nurseries. While there have been many medical advances enabling premature infants to survive, there is still risk of infant death or long-term disability. The most important things an expectant mother can do to prevent prematurity and low birth weight are to take prenatal vitamins, stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol and using drugs, and get prenatal care. | |||||||||
| Technical Note: Thirty-seven weeks is the standard cutoff point used to define a premature birth. The distribution is based on 72 neighborhoods in Orleans Parish. Neighborhood level estimates are calculated from three years of vital statistics data (2006-2008) in order to stabilize small values. Births are for those mothers who resided in Orleans Parish. The denominator is all live births in the neighborhood. Limitations of Data: Neighborhood level estimates are less reliable than Parish level due to small numbers. Likewise, rates from neighborhoods with large numbers of people are more accurate than those with small numbers. Nine percent of all births in Orleans parish (2006 to 2008) were not included in the neighborhood level estimates due to incorrect or unreported addresses, necessary for geo-coding to the neighborhood. However, this should not affect percentages if the omitted addresses are similar to those included in terms of demographics, socio-economic status, or other factors affecting birth-related outcomes. | |||||||||
| Source: Louisiana Department of Health and Human Services äóñ Vital Statistics | |||||||||
| URL of Data: >http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/reports.asp?ID=275&Detail=371 | |||||||||
| Update Frequency: Yearly | |||||||||
| Last Update: 2011-04-13 | |||||||||
| Maintained By: LOUISIANA PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE | |||||||||
|
Chart.
Going up Unit: percent View Legend | Preterm Births
| ||||||||
| What is this Indicator? The percent of mothers who had a live birth before 37 weeks gestation, annually. | |||||||||
| Why this is important: Babies born premature are likely to require specialized medical care, and oftentimes must stay in intensive care nurseries. While there have been many medical advances enabling premature infants to survive, there is still risk of infant death or long-term disability. The most important things an expectant mother can do to prevent prematurity and low birth weight are to take prenatal vitamins, stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol and using drugs, and get prenatal care. | |||||||||
| Technical Note: | |||||||||
| Source: Louisiana Department of Health and Human Services äóñ Vital Statistics | |||||||||
| URL of Data: >http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/reports.asp?ID=275&Detail=396 | |||||||||
| Update Frequency: Yearly | |||||||||
| Last Update: 2011-04-13 | |||||||||
| Maintained By: LOUISIANA PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE | |||||||||
