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QuickStats: Percentage of Small-for-Gestational-Age* Births,† by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity§---United States, 2005

Infants born small for their gestational age (SGA) are at increased risk for neonatal distress, permanent deficits in growth and neurocognitive development, and mortality. Information from U.S. birth certificates for 2005 (the most recent year for which such information is available) shows that a greater percentage of non-Hispanic black women gave birth to an SGA infant (17%), followed by Asian/Pacific Islander women (14%). Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and non-Hispanic white women were the least likely to have given birth to an SGA infant (9%–10%).

* Birthweight at or below the 10th percentile for a given gestational age.

Includes only singleton live births.

§ Percentages are based on standards for all 2005 births; SGA levels might differ if race and Hispanic ethnicity-specific standards were used.

Might be of any race.

Infants born small for their gestational age (SGA) are at increased risk for neonatal distress, permanent deficits in growth and neurocognitive development, and mortality. Information from U.S. birth certificates for 2005 (the most recent year for which such information is available) shows that a greater percentage of non-Hispanic black women gave birth to an SGA infant (17%), followed by Asian/Pacific Islander women (14%). Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and non-Hispanic white women were the least likely to have given birth to an SGA infant (9%--10%).

SOURCES: National Vital Statistics System. Annual natality files. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm.

Oken E, Kleinman KP, Rich-Edwards J, Gillman MW. A nearly continuous measure of birth weight for gestational age using a United States national reference. BMC Pediatr 2003;3:6. Available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2431-3-6.pdf.

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Date last reviewed: 12/17/2008

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