Any baby born weighing less than 2,500 grams (or 5 pounds, 8 ounces) is defined as being “low birth weight”. This data is tracked by the CDC as a percentage of all births. DPH notes the causes of low birth weight include preterm births, poor maternal health, inadequate weight gain during pregnancy, risky behaviors like smoking or other substance abuse, inadequate or late prenatal care, twins/multiples, and intrauterine growth restriction (a condition in which an unborn baby is not growing at a normal rate inside the womb). In Connecticut, children born with a low birth weight has remained just below the national rate.

Despite Connecticut’s history of battling low birth weight, further disaggregation reveals a continued need for improvement. Black mothers have consistently been almost twice as likely to give birth to low birth weight babies as white mothers. Also, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) indicates that preliminary data from DPH shows 10%-15% of low birth weight babies have been born using assisted reproductive technology (ART). These treatments include fertility medication, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy, which are used twice as often in Connecticut compared to the national average.

The negative effects for a child born with a low birth weight include substantial health impacts (e.g. cerebral palsy, developmental delays, respiratory disorders, etc.), lower achievement during primary school, a decreased likelihood of attending college and subsequent long-term economic difficulties. It should be noted that a number of studies exist that found most low birth weight children were able to become productive adults (although men experience more detrimental effects).

In recent years, legislation has been passed to put more resources into studying and reducing low birth weight. Public Act 10-133 develops action items to reduce the rate of low birth weight babies. PCSW has cited evidence that Connecticut’s infertility insurance mandate may be having a negative effect by increasing the occurrence of ART treatments. However, both Medicaid and WIC coverage for women [up to 258% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)] have positively assisted women in poverty to deliver healthy weight children by increasing access to pregnancy-related resources and services.

• Connecticut Department of Public Health
• CT Voices for Children
• Commission on Children
• Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission
• Permanent Commission on the Status of Women
• Planned Parenthood of Connecticut

• Promote, and continue to increase, 1^st trimester enrollment of pregnant women in WIC.
• Strengthen referral networks with healthcare providers and ancillary services.
• Provide training, technical assistance and/or reference materials to low performing local agencies.
• Identify and track risk factors contri­bu­t­ing to poor birth outcomes.
• Map and evaluate associations between high birth weight rates and selected health, demographic and socio­economic variables at the local level.
• Ensure adequate and timely prenatal care.
• Implement DPH-WIC/DSS-HUSKY-A data-sharing & exchange agreement, to increase referrals and co-enrollment, improve coverage, enhance program outcomes and realize cost savings.
• Survey current WIC participants who are not co-enrolled in HUSKY-A to identify reason(s); implement new/revised inter-agency coordination strategies, as appropriate, based on survey results.
• Continue to implement and enhance health promotion efforts, and assess the effectiveness of education efforts on such topics as proper nutrition and weight gain during pregnancy, and abstaining from alcohol, drugs and tobacco use.
  • Provide sample lesson plans for group and/or individual education sessions on healthy behaviors
  • Provide on-site technical assistance to low performing local agencies as needed.
• Promote conditions to improve health equity.
  • Ensure that local staff are as linguistically and culturally representative as possible of the population served by the program.
  • Monitor disparities in birth outcomes.

Strategies contributed by staff from the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH).

Data Source: Connecticut Department of Public Health, Vital Records.

Definition and Significance: LBW = the rate of low birth weight, per 100 live singleton births, within Connecticut during a calendar year. A LBW baby is born at a weight less than 2,500 grams, or about 5.5 pounds. A singleton birth results from a single fetal pregnancy, rather than a multi-fetal pregnancy such as twins or triplets.

Numerator: Number of singleton live births with a weight less than 2,500 grams, within the Connecticut birth cohort during a calendar year.

Denominator: Number of singleton live births within the Connecticut birth cohort during a calendar year.

CT Dept. of Public Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Registration Reports

http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3132&q=394598...