The proportion of babies born with low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams or about 5.5 pounds) out of all live births.
Low birth weight is a leading predictor of neonatal death. Low birth-weight infants are also more likely than normal birth-weight infants to experience long-term developmental and neurological disabilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that maternal smoking is the cause of 20% to 30% of all low-weight births in the United States.
The proportion of babies with low birth weight in the region has remained fairly steady from 2000 to 2019 between 6.4% and 7.8%. The rate increased slightly from 2018 to 2019 (from 6.7% to 7.4%) and is lower than the peak of 7.8% in 2014. The region's rates have typically been lower than statewide rates (excluding NYC). Of the region's counties, Sullivan had the highest rate in 2019 (9.4%) while Putnam had the lowest (5.5%) followed by Columbia (6.3%). Among local areas for which data were available, the Village of Kiryas Joel had the lowest rate at 4.9% in 2019, while City of Newburgh (10.6%) had the highest rate.
Rates based upon small numbers in some of the geographies can vary widely, making it difficult to distinguish true changes from random fluctuations.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 6.5% | 6.4% | 6.6% | 6.5% | 7.2% | 7.8% | 7.4% | 7.2% | 7.8% | 7.3% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 7.8% | 7.0% | 7.2% | 6.9% | 6.7% | 7.4% |
| Columbia County | 7.3% | 6.9% | 6.2% | 6.9% | 8.5% | 7.0% | 7.4% | 7.7% | 8.3% | 9.4% | 6.2% | 7.5% | 7.9% | 6.1% | 8.1% | 5.7% | 3.9% | 6.5% | 6.4% | 6.3% |
| Dutchess County | 6.6% | 6.1% | 7.0% | 6.7% | 6.3% | 7.5% | 7.6% | 7.1% | 7.2% | 7.1% | 6.6% | 7.5% | 7.0% | 7.3% | 8.6% | 7.3% | 7.2% | 8.1% | 6.9% | 7.4% |
| Greene County | 7.9% | 7.7% | 5.9% | 6.3% | 7.4% | 12.1% | 5.9% | 13.1% | 9.3% | 10.0% | 9.5% | 8.4% | 8.5% | 6.2% | 8.8% | 6.6% | 8.7% | 7.8% | 6.2% | 8.6% |
| Orange County | 6.6% | 6.0% | 6.1% | 6.4% | 7.0% | 7.7% | 6.7% | 6.8% | 7.5% | 7.1% | 6.4% | 7.4% | 7.4% | 7.3% | 6.9% | 6.4% | 7.3% | 6.2% | 6.6% | 7.1% |
| Putnam County | 5.9% | 6.7% | 7.2% | 5.9% | 7.0% | 7.5% | 8.3% | 7.1% | 9.3% | 6.7% | 8.4% | 7.2% | 9.4% | 7.5% | 8.1% | 7.1% | 7.2% | 6.6% | 7.0% | 5.5% |
| Sullivan County | 6.6% | 7.1% | 6.7% | 8.0% | 7.3% | 7.8% | 9.7% | 8.3% | 9.3% | 8.5% | 10.1% | 9.5% | 8.3% | 9.0% | 9.0% | 9.8% | 7.7% | 7.3% | 6.7% | 9.4% |
| Ulster County | 6.2% | 6.9% | 6.9% | 5.7% | 8.5% | 8.3% | 8.1% | 6.7% | 7.8% | 6.7% | 7.3% | 5.9% | 5.4% | 7.0% | 7.9% | 7.1% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7.1% | 8.5% |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 7.3% | 7.0% | 7.5% | 7.4% | 7.6% | 7.7% | 7.9% | 7.7% | 7.6% | 7.7% | 7.7% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.7% | 7.5% | 7.6% | 7.7% | 7.7% | 7.7% |
| U.S. | 7.6% | 7.7% | 7.8% | 7.9% | 8.1% | 8.2% | 8.3% | 8.2% | 8.2% | 8.2% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 8.2% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% |
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| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 864 | 830 | 859 | 870 | 948 | 1,026 | 998 | 962 | 1,029 | 908 | 879 | 875 | 861 | 841 | 897 | 800 | 823 | 808 | 791 | 886 |
| Columbia County | 48 | 41 | 37 | 44 | 50 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 51 | 53 | 37 | 41 | 42 | 33 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 33 | 30 | 30 |
| Dutchess County | 220 | 197 | 224 | 221 | 199 | 238 | 231 | 218 | 211 | 207 | 190 | 200 | 190 | 190 | 231 | 190 | 181 | 211 | 176 | 201 |
| Greene County | 38 | 32 | 27 | 28 | 33 | 55 | 26 | 60 | 41 | 44 | 44 | 36 | 35 | 26 | 35 | 25 | 32 | 30 | 27 | 31 |
| Orange County | 322 | 295 | 308 | 331 | 367 | 396 | 365 | 362 | 404 | 357 | 322 | 360 | 351 | 346 | 333 | 308 | 358 | 315 | 333 | 369 |
| Putnam County | 70 | 80 | 86 | 69 | 82 | 78 | 86 | 74 | 92 | 60 | 78 | 62 | 78 | 60 | 67 | 58 | 59 | 53 | 59 | 44 |
| Sullivan County | 55 | 60 | 53 | 73 | 61 | 68 | 94 | 79 | 89 | 73 | 84 | 77 | 79 | 75 | 71 | 78 | 66 | 58 | 57 | 82 |
| Ulster County | 111 | 125 | 124 | 104 | 156 | 148 | 152 | 124 | 141 | 114 | 124 | 99 | 86 | 111 | 120 | 111 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 129 |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 10,086 | 9,390 | 9,900 | 9,822 | 9,910 | 9,933 | 10,238 | 10,005 | 9,752 | 9,640 | 9,495 | 9,409 | 9,069 | 8,972 | 9,260 | 8,965 | 9,043 | 9,078 | 8,991 | 8,947 |
| U.S. | 307,030 | 308,747 | 314,077 | 324,064 | 331,772 | 338,565 | 351,974 | 354,333 | 347,209 | 336,747 | 325,563 | 319,711 | 315,709 | 315,099 | 318,847 | 320,869 | 321,839 | 318,873 | 313,752 | 311,245 |
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