Infant and Child Health

Jump to another page... Introduction Child restraints Household fire escape plan Routine checkups Child routine dental checkup Child mortality—years of potential life lost Immunizations Infant Mortality Fertility in women ages 15 to 44 Prenatal Care in first trimester Late or no prenatal care Low birth weight Fertility in females 12 to 17 years of age Prenatal care among teenage mothers Late or no prenatal care (teen) Low birth weight (teen) Prenatal care for single mothers Late or no prenatal care (single) Low birth weight (single)

Prenatal care for single mothers

Of the 25,020 births in Bexar County, 39 percent (9,758) were to single mothers. Eighty-seven percent of births to single mothers were to mothers at least 18 years of age. In Harris County and across Texas, 35 percent of births are to unmarried women. This is a concern because on average, births to single mothers have poorer outcomes than births to married mothers. Having the support of one’s family and friends during pregnancy and while raising a child is important. The support of social networks helps make mother and child feel cared for, loved, valued, and esteemed. It is important to support strategies that help these families feel cared for and valued.

After a substantial increase in the percent of single mothers receiving early prenatal care between 1992 and 1996 there has been a very gradual increase in rates across Texas. As with other birth indicators in 2004, Bexar County (79 percent) single mothers do slightly better at starting care in the first trimester than do single mothers in Harris County (74 percent) and the state (74 percent). The percentage of Bexar County single mothers starting prenatal care in the first trimester is still notably lower than the 91 percent of married mothers who began receiving prenatal care in the first trimester.

Across Bexar County sectors, the variation in the percent of single mothers beginning prenatal care in the first trimester is minimal with the exception of the South sector. Eighty-two percent of single mothers in the South began prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy, compared with the lowest rate in the Northeast sector (76 percent). These rates indicate that Bexar County single mothers are more likely to begin prenatal care in the first trimester than single mothers across Texas (74 percent).

Late or no prenatal care

The rate of single mothers receiving late or no prenatal care was 4.6 percent in Bexar County in 2004. This is similar to the proportion of teenage mothers receiving late or no prenatal care. After a sharp decline between 1992 and 1996, the rate of single mothers seeking prenatal care late in pregnancy or not at all has changed little.

In 2004, 4.6 percent of single mothers delayed prenatal care until the last trimester of pregnancy or sought no prenatal care. This is noticeably lower than the Texas rate of 6.7 percent. The rate of late or no prenatal care among single mothers varies only slightly between sectors in Bexar County.

As with other birth indicators, a better rate in Bexar County does not signify that improvement is not needed. Single mothers are at a higher risk for poor birth outcomes and more likely to be living on incomes below the poverty level than married mothers. It is important that health professionals find ways to improve access to early prenatal care and support single mothers in using that care.

Low birth weight

Good prenatal care helps reduce risk in pregnancy and lowers the risk of low birth weight. In 2004 the rate of births of low birth weight among single mothers in Bexar County was 10 percent. This is slightly higher than the 8.8 percent of low birth weight among all births. This is similar to the percent of low birth weight births to unmarried mothers across the state. Since 1992, the low birth weight rates in Texas and Bexar and Harris Counties have remained steady at around 10 percent.

The differences in the rate of low birth weight babies across the six sectors of Bexar County are generally small. The rates vary from a low of 8.5 percent in the North Central sector to 10.1 in the West and 10.6 in the Northwest. The exception is in the East sector where 12.7 percent of births to single mothers are low birth weight. This is higher than the 10.6 percent of all births in the East. It is probable that the higher percent of low birth weight births reflects the concentration of African American population in the sector. Across the United States, African American mothers have a higher percentage of low birth weight babies than non-African American mothers.