The proportion of babies born with low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams or about 5.5 pounds) out of all live births.
Low birth weight is a leading predictor of neonatal death. Low birth-weight infants are also more likely than normal birth-weight infants to experience long-term developmental and neurological disabilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that maternal smoking is the cause of 20% to 30% of all low-weight births in the United States.
The proportion of babies with low birth weight in the region has remained fairly steady from 2010 to 2023, varying from a low of 6.7% (2018) to 7.8% (2014). The rate decreased slightly from 2022 to 2023 (from 7.5% to 7.4%) but is lower than the peak of 7.8% in 2014. The region's rates have typically been lower than statewide rates (excluding NYC). Of the region's counties, Columbia and Dutchess had the highest rate in 2023 (10.3% and 8.3%. respectively) while Putnam had the lowest (5.8%). Columbia went from having the lowest rate in 2022 to the highest rate in 2023. Among local areas for which data were available, the Woodbury Village (Orange County) had the lowest rate at 4.3% in 2023, while the City of Middletown (Orange County) had the highest rate at 12.4%.
Rates based upon small numbers in some of the geographies can vary widely, making it difficult to distinguish true changes from random fluctuations.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 7.8% | 7.0% | 7.2% | 6.9% | 6.7% | 7.4% | 7.5% | 7.2% | 7.5% | 7.4% | |||||
| Columbia | 6.2% | 7.5% | 7.9% | 6.1% | 8.1% | 5.7% | 3.9% | 6.5% | 6.4% | 6.3% | 7.7% | 7.1% | 5.7% | 10.3% | |||||
| Dutchess | 6.6% | 7.5% | 7.0% | 7.3% | 8.6% | 7.3% | 7.2% | 8.1% | 6.9% | 7.4% | 7.6% | 8.3% | 7.3% | 8.3% | |||||
| Greene | 9.5% | 8.4% | 8.5% | 6.2% | 8.8% | 6.6% | 8.7% | 7.8% | 6.2% | 8.6% | 5.0% | 8.5% | 7.1% | 7.1% | |||||
| Orange | 6.4% | 7.4% | 7.4% | 7.3% | 6.9% | 6.4% | 7.3% | 6.2% | 6.6% | 7.1% | 7.3% | 6.5% | 7.4% | 7.0% | |||||
| Putnam | 8.4% | 7.2% | 9.4% | 7.5% | 8.1% | 7.1% | 7.2% | 6.6% | 7.0% | 5.5% | 7.2% | 8.1% | 6.6% | 5.8% | |||||
| Sullivan | 10.1% | 9.5% | 8.3% | 9.0% | 9.0% | 9.8% | 7.7% | 7.3% | 6.7% | 9.4% | 9.6% | 6.2% | 8.7% | 8.0% | |||||
| Ulster | 7.3% | 5.9% | 5.4% | 7.0% | 7.9% | 7.1% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7.1% | 8.5% | 7.5% | 7.6% | 8.5% | 7.6% | |||||
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 7.7% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.7% | 7.5% | 7.6% | 7.7% | 7.7% | 7.7% | 7.8% | 7.9% | 8.1% | 8.3% | |||||
| U.S. | 8.1% | 8.1% | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 8.2% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.2% | 8.5% | 8.6% | 8.6% | |||||
| Dutchess Cities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Orange Cities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Orange Villages | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ulster Cities | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 879 | 875 | 861 | 841 | 897 | 800 | 823 | 808 | 791 | 886 | 886 | 905 | 926 | 917 | |||||
| Columbia | 37 | 41 | 42 | 33 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 33 | 30 | 30 | 36 | 34 | 27 | 45 | |||||
| Dutchess | 190 | 200 | 190 | 190 | 231 | 190 | 181 | 211 | 176 | 201 | 195 | 220 | 191 | 210 | |||||
| Greene | 44 | 36 | 35 | 26 | 35 | 25 | 32 | 30 | 27 | 31 | 20 | 33 | 27 | 28 | |||||
| Orange | 322 | 360 | 351 | 346 | 333 | 308 | 358 | 315 | 333 | 369 | 381 | 365 | 405 | 401 | |||||
| Putnam | 78 | 62 | 78 | 60 | 67 | 58 | 59 | 53 | 59 | 44 | 60 | 74 | 60 | 52 | |||||
| Sullivan | 84 | 77 | 79 | 75 | 71 | 78 | 66 | 58 | 57 | 82 | 83 | 60 | 85 | 76 | |||||
| Ulster | 124 | 99 | 86 | 111 | 120 | 111 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 129 | 111 | 119 | 131 | 105 | |||||
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 9,495 | 9,409 | 9,069 | 8,972 | 9,260 | 8,965 | 9,043 | 9,078 | 8,991 | 8,947 | 8,815 | 9,329 | 9,304 | 9,280 | |||||
| U.S. | 325,563 | 319,711 | 315,709 | 315,099 | 318,847 | 320,869 | 321,839 | 318,873 | 313,752 | 311,245 | 297,604 | 311,932 | 314,756 | 308,263 | |||||
| Dutchess Cities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Orange Cities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Orange Villages | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ulster Cities | |||||||||||||||||||
| INDICATORS | TREND | STATE |
|---|---|
| People Without Health Insurance | Decreasing |
| Early Prenatal Care, by Mother's Race/Ethnicity | Not Applicable |
| Deaths from Drug Overdoses | Increasing |
| Babies with Low Birth Weights | Maintaining |
| Newly Diagnosed Cases of HIV | Decreasing |
| People Living wth HIV | Increasing |
| Mental Health Clinic Visits | Maintaining |
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