Hispanic Births in Delaware, 2005 DELAWARE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES Division of Public Health Doc. # 35-05-20/08/02/01 Acknowledgments This report was prepared by the Delaware Health Statistics Center. Winter, 2008 For more information, contact: Delaware Health Statistics Center Division of Public Health 417 Federal Street Dover, DE 19901 Phone: (302)744-4541 Fax: (302)739-4784 Or visit our website at: http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/hp/healthstats.html Suggested Citation: Hispanic Births in Delaware, 2005. Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Delaware Health Statistics Center, 2008. According to the U.S. Census, in 2005 Hispanics were the nation's largest minority group, with 42.7 million, or 14.4 percent, of the total U.S. population of 296.4 million. With a 3.3 percent increase in population from July 1, 2004 to July 1, 2005, they were the fastest-growing minority group.1 Based on the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) bridged-race Estimates for 2005, 6 percent of Delaware’s population were Hispanic. More than two-thirds of the Hispanics were in New Castle County. Estimates by Hispanic origin were not available for detailed comparison. U.S. Census Population Estimates of Delaware by County and Ethnicity, 2005 Notes on data sources: All Delaware birth information presented in the following report are based on data from the Delaware certificate of live birth and analyses by the Delaware Health Statistics Center. This report describes birth characteristics of Hispanics as compared to white and black non-Hispanics, as well as the three most frequently represented Hispanic subgroups. Live births in Delaware reflected the increasing trend in Hispanic population. Between 1991 and 2005, the number of live births to Hispanic mothers more than quadrupled, from 399 to 1674. In 1991 the majority of Hispanic births were to Puerto Rican women, followed by women of Mexican and Central/South American origin. Though the number of births to Puerto Rican women remained relatively stable from 1991 to 2005, births to Central/ South American women increased more than 19 times (from 19 to 377), and births to Mexican women increased eightfold (from 115 to 1006). The majority of the Hispanic births were to mothers from New Castle County, comprising nearly 66 percent of all live births to Hispanic mothers in 1991-1995 and just over 61 percent of all live births in 2001-2005. In 1991-1995, Hispanic women accounted for 4.6 percent of the total live births. By 2001-2005, that proportion had more than doubled, to 12.4 percent. Over the same period of time, births to white non-Hispanic mothers decreased from 70.1 to 58.1 percent of total live births. In 1991-1995, births to Puerto Rican women accounted for the largest proportion of Hispanic births (44 percent), followed by Mexican women (37.9 percent), and Central/ South American women (12.9 percent). By 2001-2005, over half of all Hispanic births were to Mexican women and the proportion of births to Central/South American women had risen to 20.9 percent. During the same time, the proportion of births to Puerto Rican women dropped to 21.1 percent. The birthplace distribution of Hispanic mothers changed from 1991-1995 to 2001-2005. The proportion of Hispanic mothers born in the U.S. declined from 34.7 to 19.3 percent, while the proportion of Hispanic mothers born in Mexico rose from 28.5 to 50.6 percent. Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and New Jersey were the top five most frequently reported states of birth for U.S. born Hispanic mothers. In 1991-1995, 72.9 percent of mothers of Mexican descent were native-born. By 2001- 2005, that proportion had grown to 88.6 percent, whereas the proportion of Mexican mothers born in the U.S. fell from 23.2 to 8.9 percent. States with the largest number of U.S. born mothers of Mexican descent included Delaware, Texas, California, New York and Pennsylvania. The percentage of Puerto Rican mothers born in the U.S. increased from 51.6 in 1991-1995 to 60.4 in 2001-2005. At the same time, the percent of Puerto Rican mothers who were native born decreased from 45.4 to 36.5. Delaware was the most frequently listed U.S. birthplace, accounting for 24.3 percent of all mothers of Puerto Rican descent in 1991-1995 and 27 percent in 2001-2005. Cuban mothers made up the smallest Hispanic subgroup, with only 34 births in 2001-2005. The percent of Cuban mothers born in the U.S. increased from 41.7 in 1991-1995 to 58.8 percent in 2001-2005. Over 90 percent of the mothers of Central/South American descent were born outside the U.S. and its territories. Unfortunately, the specific country of birth was not available in the majority of cases. The percentage of births to single Hispanic mothers increased from 49.1 in 1991-1995 to 58.5 in 2001-2005, more than double that of white non-Hispanic women, though lower than black non-Hispanic women. Among Hispanic subgroups, Puerto Rican and Central/South American women had the highest percentages of births to unmarried women (62.1 and 61.6 percent in 2001-2005). Although the median age for Hispanic mothers increased in 2001-2005, they continued to have a lower median age than white non-Hispanic mothers. Among the Hispanic subgroups, Puerto Rican mothers had the youngest median age. In 2001-2005, over half of Hispanic mothers 20 years of age and older had less than 12 years of education, a proportion 8 times that of white non-Hispanic mothers and 4 times that of black non-Hispanic mothers. Among the Hispanic subgroups, the percent of Puerto Rican women 20 years of age and older with less than 12 years education was significantly lower than that of Mexican or Central/South American women. Hispanic mothers were more likely than white and black non-Hispanic mothers to have less than 9 years of education. In 2001-2005, 34.1 percent of Hispanic mothers 20 years of age and older had less than 9 years of education, versus 2 percent of white and 1.2 percent of black non-Hispanics. Among the Hispanic subgroups, Central/ South Americans and Mexican mothers had the highest proportions of mothers 20 years of age and older with less than 9 years of education (41.0 and 46.2 percent ). From 1991-1995 to 2001-2005, the percentage of Hispanic mothers receiving late or no prenatal care (i.e. care received in the 3rd trimester, or no care received) increased to 9.1, more than triple that of white non-Hispanics. Among the Hispanic subgroups, the percentage of mothers receiving late or no prenatal care ranged from 3.9 for Puerto Ricans to 21.2 for Central/South Americans. The live birth or interpregnancy interval is defined as the period of time between two successive live births. Women who have an interpregnancy interval of less than 18 months have a higher risk of giving birth to a premature, low birthweight, or small for gestational age infant. In 2001-2005, approximately 12 percent of Hispanic and white non-Hispanic births occurred less than 18 months after the woman's previous live birth, versus nearly 17 percent of black non-Hispanic births. Among the Hispanic subgroups, the percent of live births with interpregnancy intervals of less than 18 months ranged from 11.2 for Mexicans to 14.8 for Central/South Americans. Prematurity (less than 37 completed weeks of gestation) and low birthweight (less than 2500 grams or 5 lbs 8 oz at birth) are often associated with poor birth outcomes. In 2001-2005 the percentage of low birthweight births to Hispanic mothers was half that of black non-Hispanics. Puerto Rican mothers had a percentage of low birthweight births almost twice that of other Hispanic subgroups. The percentage of low and very low birthweight (less than 1500 grams or 3 lbs 5 oz) births to Hispanic mothers was similar to that of white non-Hispanic mothers and less than half that of black non-Hispanics in 2001-2005. Preterm births were distributed much like low birthweight births, with the exception that percentages for all three race/Hispanic origin groups had increased by 2001-2005. Hispanics and white non-Hispanics had similar percentages of low birthweight births, which were almost 6 percent below that of black non-Hispanics. Within the Hispanic subgroups, Puerto Rican and Central/South American mothers were most likely to have a preterm birth. Both Hispanics and white non-Hispanics had less than 2 percent of their total births born very preterm (less than 32 weeks gestation); at 4.4 percent, black non-Hispanics had more than double the proportion of births born very preterm. Puerto Rican mothers had the highest percentage of very preterm deliveries among the Hispanic subgroups. Compared to white and black non-Hispanics in 1991-1995, Hispanic women had the lowest percent (27.6) of deliveries with private insurance as the principal source of payment. Consequently, Hispanics had the highest percent of mothers with self pay (9) and Medicaid (63.2) as the principal sources of payment for delivery. Mexican mothers had the lowest percent (20.7) of insured mothers among the Hispanic subgroups. In 2001-2005, the Hispanic payment distribution shifted as the percent of deliveries covered by Medicaid increased to 77.6 and those covered by private insurance and self-pay decreased to 17.2 and 4.9 percent. At over 80 percent, the Mexican and Central/ South American subgroups had the highest proportion of deliveries with Medicaid as their principal source of payment. White and black non-Hispanic mothers were more likely to smoke during pregnancy. In 2001-2005, the percentage of white non-Hispanic mothers who smoked while pregnant was three times that of Hispanics. Among the Hispanic subgroups, Puerto Rican mothers had the highest reported percentage of mothers who smoked during pregnancy. Despite a small decline in the black non-Hispanic infant mortality rate (IMR) combined with slight increases in the white non-Hispanic and Hispanic IMRs, IMRs for black non-Hispanics remained more than twice that of white non-Hispanics and Hispanics in 2001-2005. Infant mortality rates for all Hispanic subgroups were based on a small number of cases and are not presented here. Technical Notes HISPANIC ORIGIN Beginning in 1989, a specific question regarding Hispanic origin was added to the birth and death certificates. This question is considered to be separate from the Race question. Therefore, a person may report Hispanic origin in combination with any race category. The Hispanic question has two parts. The first simply asks whether the person is of Hispanic origin (Yes or No). The second part is a free-form item that asks for the specific origin. Hispanic origin includes persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, and other or unknown Latin American or Spanish origins. PRIMARY SOURCE OF PAYMENT MEDICAID - A jointly funded Federal-State health insurance program providing medical care to those unable to afford it. PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE- Includes HMO/PPO, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and other private. SELF-PAY - The majority of the costs for delivery were expected to be paid by the patient, spouse, family, or next-of-kin. FIVE-YEAR AVERAGE (FYA) INFANT MORTALITY RATES Running FYA infant mortality rates were calculated by race and ethnicity for Delaware. The rates were computed by dividing the total numbers of deaths over each five-year period by the total number of live births over the same five-year period and multiplying the result by 1,000. References 1. U. S. Census Bureau News. Nation’s Population One-Third Minority. http:// www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/006808.html. Accessed 11/01/2007. 2. U. S. Census Bureau News. Facts for Features: Hispanic Heritage Month 2007: Sep. 25– Oct. 15. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/ facts_for_features_special_editions/010327.html. Accessed 11/01/2007. 3. Medline Plus. High Infant Birthweights Seen in Latinos. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ medlineplus/news/fullstory_42364.html. Accessed 12/13/2006. 18