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Race Equity Trends > Health

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Low Birth Weight by Race/Ethnicity

Disparities exist in incidence of low birth weight by race and ethnicity in Lancaster County

Children who are born at a low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams or 5 pounds, 8 ounces) have increased risk of death and need for long-term medical care compared to those born with weights above that threshold.1,2

Lancaster County has a lower overall percentage of children who are born at a low birth weight than the U.S.

  • From 2016 to 2020, the average percentage of children born at a low birth weight in Lancaster County was 7.3%, compared to the 8.3% of children who were born at a low birth weight in the U.S.

However, disparities in the incidence of low birth weight in Lancaster County exist by race and ethnicity.

  • 6.8% of infants identified as White were born at low birth weight.
  • 7.1% of infants identified as Asian were born at low birth weight.
  • 7.5% of infants identified as American Indian or Alaska Native were born at low birth weight.
  • 7.8% of infants identified as Latino/a or Hispanic were born at low birth weight.
  • 12.4% of infants identified as Black or African American were born at low birth weight, higher than the national average.
  • 8.7% of infants identified as Some Other Race were born at low birth weight.
Notes

Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, Online Vital Statistics Reporting System. National data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Vital Statistics System.

Low birth weight births are defined as live births with a birth weight of less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces)

Footnotes
  1. McCormick, Marie C. (1985) The contribution of low birth weight to infant mortality and childhood morbidity. New England Journal of Medicine 312:82-90.
  2. Kramer M. S. (1987). Determinants of low birth weight: methodological assessment and meta-analysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 65(5), 663–737.