Infants Born at Very Low Birth Weight in U.S. Cities with Populations over 100,000: 1990-2005

Overall, there has not been substantial change in the percentage of infants born with low birth weight since 1990. For most years between 1990 and 2005, the percentage of infants born with very low birth weight was higher for those born in U.S. cities than among all U.S. infants. In 2005, 1.7 percent of infants in U.S. cities were of very low birth weight, compared to 1.5 percent in the total U.S. population.

Source: Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ, Menacker F, Kirmeyer S, Munson ML. Births: Final data for 2005. National vital statistics reports; vol 56 no 6. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2007.

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