All children deserve a strong start in life and a healthy birthweight plays an important role. Several maternal health, socioeconomic, and environmental factors contribute to the likelihood of low infant birthweight (less than 5.5 pounds).

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is the single most important known cause of low birthweight,^[i] but even pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to have babies born at a low birthweight.^[ii]

Infants born at a low birthweight are more likely to face short- and long-term health complications and are 25 times more likely to die within their first year of life than those born at a normal weight.[iii]^,[iv] Low-birthweight babies are more likely to experience delayed motor and social development.[v] Low birthweight is also associated with impaired cognitive development, which impacts educational success, regardless of socioeconomic status.[vi]

After decades of steady worsening,[vii] Kentucky’s rate of low-weight births has plateaued but remains higher than the national rate.[viii]

[i] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2014). The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. Available at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/. Accessed November 2017.

[ii] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2006). The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. Available at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/. Accessed November 2017.

[iii] March of Dimes (2014). Low Birthweight. Available at http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/low-birthweight.aspx. Accessed November 2017.

[iv] Mathews, T.J., MacDorman, M.F., and Thoma, M.E. (2015). “Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2013 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set.” National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 64, no. 9. National Center for Health Statistics. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_09.pdf. Accessed November 2017.

[v] Hediger, M. L., Overpeck, M. D., Ruan, W. J., and Troendle, J. F. (2002). Birthweight and Gestational Age Effects on Motor and Social Development. Pediatric and Prenatal Epidemiology, vol. 16, no. 1. Available at http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.947.7649&rep=rep1&type=pdf. Accessed November 2017.

[vi] Boardman, J.D., Powers, D.A., Padilla, Y.C., and Hummer, R.A. (2002). “Low Birth Weight, Social Factors, and Developmental Outcomes Among Children in the United States.” Demography, vol. 39, no. 2. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11324513_Low_Birth_Weight_Social_Factors_and_Developmental_Outcomes_Among_Children_in_the_United_States. Accessed November 2017.

[vii] Kentucky Youth Advocates (2015). Good Public Policies = A Brighter Future for Kentucky Kids: A 25 Year Retrospective. Available at http://kyyouth.org/kentucky-kids-count/25years/. Accessed November 2017.

[viii] Annie E. Casey Foundation (2017). KIDS COUNT Data Center. Available at http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/line/5425-low-birth-weight-babies?loc=1&loct=1#2/19/true/573,869,36,868,867,133,38,35,18,17/asc/any/11985. Accessed November 2017.