About

This metric shows infants weighing less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces) at birth. This statistic is expressed as a percentage of all live births to Tulsa County mothers, reported by single calendar years. Infants born with low birth weight are at higher risk for health complications such as developmental delays and respiratory problems. Factors like smoking, alcohol use, poor nutrition, stress, domestic violence, and environmental exposures can increase the risk. Early and regular prenatal care plays a critical role in helping prevent low birth weight and improving 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.