Overall, in 2003, slightly over a third of all births in the U.S. were to unmarried women. The percentage of births to unmarried women has steadily increased in the past few decades, from 5.3 percent in 1960 to 34.6 percent in 2003 (Source: Child Trends DataBank). In Randolph County, the rate of births to unmarried mothers is 41.1, significantly higher than for Missouri at 36.1 for the trended period from 2001 through 2005. The infant death rate for Randolph County is 8.3 compared to Missouri at 7.7, with 30 deaths per 1,000 for the period 1994 through 2004. For this same period, there were 3 deaths per 1,000 attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Infant deaths are defined as deaths to resident babies born alive and dying before their first birthday. The prenatal Medicaid rate is the number of resident live births to mothers participating in Medicaid during their pregnancy and the percent this number is of all resident live births with known Medicaid status (Department of Health and Senior Services definition). Medicaid status is acquired from the birth certificate. In reviewing the graph below, it is evident that Randolph County's rate is higher than Missouri's, with over 50 percent of births in 2004 being to mothers who were on Medicaid.

Births to Unmarried Mothers

"Children born to unmarried mothers are also more likely to grow up in a single-parent household, experience instability in living arrangements, live in poverty, and display socio-emotional problems." - Child Trend DataBank

Percent of Births to Unmarried Women

Pregnant Women Receiving Medicaid

"America is in the middle of a national healthcare crisis. Over 41 million Americans are uninsured and many of those who are insured are underinsured. Insurance premiums have been increasing and they are expected to continue to rise. This has led many Americans to go without insurance and hope for the best for their health. As a result, there are approximately 13% of women who become pregnant each year who are not insured, which results in pregnant women receiving inadequate prenatal care." - American Pregnancy Association

Low Birth Rate Weights

Two contributors to low birth weight that can be addressed through early intervention include smoking cessation and improved nutrition.

Inadequate Prenatal Care and
Percent of Mothers Without Adequate Prenatal Care

Inadequate use of prenatal care has been associated with increased risks of low birth-weight births, premature births, neonatal mortality, infant mortality, and maternal mortality. Regardless of the type of barrier, Randolph County Health Department is striving to increase the percentage of women entering into prenatal care earlier. Although data indicates that the Randolph County rate for inadequate prenatal care was 19.1 in 2005, higher than Missouri at 10.3, in many instances the issues relate more to reporting than to late entry into care.
Inadequate prenatal care is defined as fewer than five prenatal visits for pregnancies less than 37 weeks, fewer than eight visits for pregnancies 37 weeks or longer or care beginning after the first four months of pregnancy. If adequacy of prenatal care could be determined even if month care began or visits were unknown, then these records were included.

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