Poverty, low-weight births take toll on youngest

from USA Today

By Angela Haupt, USA TODAY
Fewer teenagers in the USA are giving birth each year, and the high school dropout rate is steadily declining. But the percentage of babies born with a low birth weight is greater than ever, and more children are living in poverty and single-parent families.

These findings from a study late last month suggest that indicators of well-being have improved for the nation's teenagers but worsened for babies, says Laura Beavers of the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.

In July, the group released its annual Kids Count Databook report, which offers a state-by-state analysis of children's health, well-being and education trends.

"We're seeing some slight improvements, especially for teens," Beavers says. "But we're also seeing worrisome conditions for children.

"The economy may be booming right now, but that hasn't trickled down to the kids."

Nationwide, 8.1% of babies are born weighing less than 2,500 grams, or about 5.5 pounds. That means they're at increased risk of dying within their first year of life and probably will experience developmental problems, Beavers says.

Low-weight births increased by 7% since 2000 and are higher than they have been since 1969.

Looking for answers

"It's a very consistent trend, and it's worsening in every single state," Beavers says. "There are people all across the country who are trying to figure out what is going on here and what can be done."

According to the United Nations Children's Fund and World Health Organization reports, factors contributing to a low birth weight worldwide include poor nutrition during pregnancy, smoking cigarettes during pregnancy and giving birth as a teenager, when the body is not yet fully developed.

"We do know that prenatal care helps enormously, and so does health care before the mother even gets pregnant," Beavers says.

The number of teenagers who give birth each year, meanwhile, has dropped by 15% since 2000, suggesting a decline in risky sexual behavior, Beavers says.

"Teens are either deciding not to have sex or they're using contraceptives," Beavers says. "There's such an emphasis today on graduating high school and going to college … that it pushes them to avoid becoming teenage parents."

In 2005, the high school dropout rate — measured by the number of teens 16 to 19 who were not in school and had not graduated from high school — was 7%, down from 11% in 2000.

"The fact that kids are staying in school is pretty terrific," Beavers says.

"It could be due to a push toward school reform … but it could also be that there isn't as much access to jobs for teens today as there was in the 1990s," she says. "And because of that, they're deciding to stay in school instead of entering the workplace."

Also among Kids Count findings

• In 2005, 19% of children were living in poverty, up from 17% in 2000.

• In 2005, 34% of children — more than 24.5 million — lived in a home where no parent worked full time, year-round. The number was up from 32% in 2000.

• The percentage of black low-weight births (13.4%) is about twice as high as it is for any other racial or ethnic group.

• From 2000 to 2004, the child death rate decreased in 30 states.

The study's findings echo those released earlier in July by the government's Forum on Child and Family Statistics, gathered by a consortium of federal agencies.

The group's "America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being" report suggests both positive and negative trends, says Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics.

That report found:

• In 2006, 67% of children lived with two married parents, compared with 77% in 1980.

• In 2005, 60% of children lived in counties where at least one air pollutant rose above its allowable level. In 2004, that number was 46%.

• In 2004, 18% of children ages 6 to 17 were overweight, compared with 6% in 1980 and 11% in 1994.

• In 2006, 12% of surveyed 12th-graders reported smoking daily during the previous month — down from 14% in 2005.

"We can't just rest on those laurels, on those positive results that we happen to find, because they're very temporary," Sondik says. "Ten years from now, there is going to be an entirely new set of teenagers.

"We have to continue developing methods, intervention and education tactics to address these critical issues. It's a continuing challenge."