This metric shows births that occur before 37 completed weeks of gestation. This statistic is presented as a percentage of all live births to Tulsa County mothers, reported by single calendar years.

Preterm birth is a significant public health concern as it is a leading cause of infant mortality and contributes to long-term health challenges, including an increased risk of illness and disability throughout life. Factors such as maternal age, race, socioeconomic status, infections, previous preterm births, multiple pregnancies, and lifestyle choices like tobacco or alcohol use can increase the likelihood of a preterm delivery. Monitoring the prevalence of preterm births helps identify at-risk populations and can inform targeted interventions to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Total births at the ZIP code level were calculated by the Tulsa Health Department (THD) using raw data files from the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), Center for Health Statistics, Health Care Information.

For county-level data, an alternate source is the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), Center for Health Statistics, Health Care Information, accessed via Oklahoma Statistics on Health Available for Everyone (OK2SHARE) at http://www.health.ok.gov/ok2share.