All eyes on mom: Identifying maternal risk factors for preterm births and low birthweight

In Philadelphia, significant health disparities continue to be of great significance in public health and often have dire consequences. One lingering significant health disparity is the infant mortality rate (IMR). In 2003, the IMR for Philadelphia was 10.5 per 1,000 live births while the national IMR was 7 per 1,000 live births. This striking discrepancy calls for a closer examination at the factors contributing to infant mortality, specifically preterm birth and low birthweight, which are the second leading causes of death among infants. Using a cohort of linked birth and death records for 2003-2005, this study will assess preterm birth patterns and low birthweight babies. Initial results show that the 2004 Philadelphia IMR was 10.47 and the IMR for three of the six Healthy Start Philadelphia regions exceed the 2005 Philadelphia IMR of 11.31. This preliminary finding underscores the urgency of alleviating health disparities as the Healthy Start program was designed specifically to work with communities to reduce poor birth outcomes and infant deaths and to address racial and ethnic disparities in perinatal care. This session will evaluate and quantify the maternal demographic and psychosocial characteristics to help identify areas on which the Philadelphia Department of Public Health – Division of Maternal, Child and Family Health should particularly focus to help mothers obtain optimal outcome in delivering healthy babies. Additionally, this project is being undertaken in an effort to better advise and plan the Healthy Start Philadelphia program. Thus, the racial and geographical distribution of risk factors will serve to enhance program development.