Infant and Child Health

Low birth weight

Good prenatal care helps reduce health risks during pregnancy and lowers the risk of low birth weight. In 2004, Bexar County babies weighing less than 2,500 grams accounted for 8.8 percent of all births. This rate marks a small but continuing gradual increase in low birth weight births since 1992. This trend is consistent with the percentage of low birth weight births for Texas and Harris County.

The low birth weight rates in each of the sectors are consistent with or slightly higher than the statewide average low birth weight rate of 8 percent. The highest rate is in the East sector with a rate of 10.5. The East sector has the highest concentration of African American population at 19 percent, and the Eastside area is 41 percent African American. Historically, the African American low birth weight rate is 1.5 to 1.7 times the non-Hispanic white rate.

Fertility in females 12 to 17 years of age

Teenage pregnancy is a public health concern. Births to teenage mothers account for only 5.8 percent of the births in Bexar County. However, when a teenage girl becomes pregnant, there are a number of obstacles. The health of the mother and the fetus are compromised because both bodies are growing and need nutrients. It often becomes more difficult for the girl to continue to go to school because of the competing needs of caring for a baby. This reduces the potential for the mother to find and keep a well-paying job. Unemployed and low-income mothers often have to rely on public assistance to provide for themselves and their child. Keeping the teenage pregnancy rate as low as possible is a worthy topic of social concern. Fertility among females between 12 and 17 years of age has declined since 1996 across Texas. This follows the trend in the United States. In Texas the rate has fallen from 26 per 1,000 females between 12 and 17 to 19. In major metropolitan areas such as Houston and San Antonio the fertility rates among teens are similar to the State rate.

There were 1,463 births to mothers younger than 18 in Bexar County in 2004. This results in a fertility rate of 21 per 1,000 females age 12 to 17. The teenage fertility rate mimics the general fertility rate in Bexar County. There are notable differences in the rates across the county. In the southern sectors the rate varies between 35 and 32 births per 1,000. In the northern sectors the teenage fertility rate is 20 births per 1,000 population lower than the rate in the south of the county. The rates range from 9 in the North Central sector to 15 births per 1,000 in the Northwest sector.