A report released Wednesday revealed that Kentucky has a higher rate of preterm births, teen births and low birthweight babies than the national average, but Warren County has experienced lower numbers than the state in all those categories.

“The Right Start for America’s Newborns,” an annual report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranks all 50 states and the 50 largest U.S. cities for their rates of teen births, low birthweight babies (defined as babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth), preterm births, births to mothers who smoked during pregnancy, births to mothers with less than 12 years of education, births to women with late or no prenatal care, births to unmarried women and teen births to women who are already mothers.

Data for each of those statistics is included dating back to 1990, and the state and city rankings in each category are based on 2005 births, the most recent year covered by the study.

Kentucky ranked 46th for preterm births in 2005, with only four states registering a higher rate than the 15.2 percent of babies born before 28 weeks gestation in the state.

Warren County, meanwhile, saw a 12 percent rate of preterm births between 2003-05.

In 2005, 12.1 percent of babies born in Kentucky were born to teen mothers, ranking 40th among all states, compared to 3.4 percent babies born in Warren County between 2003-05.

In the area of low birthweight babies, 7 percent of Warren County babies born between 2003-05 weighed less than 5.5 pounds, outperforming the state rate of 9.1 percent and the national rate of 8.2 percent. Kentucky ranked 39th in low birthweight babies.

Also, the report shows that 26 percent of babies were born in Kentucky in 2005 to mothers who smoked during pregnancy, whereas only 19 percent of babies in Warren County from 2003-05 were born to women who reported smoking during pregnancy.

Tara Grieshop-Goodwin, deputy director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said the rates of preterm and low-weight births have increased both in the state and nationwide over the course of the past five years.

“There are a lot of different factors that go into that,” Grieshop-Goodwin said. “Are women getting in to see their doctors and health care providers and getting the appropriate care? Also, there are physical stressors at work and environmental issues in some communities.”

Grieshop-Goodwin said the incidence of women who smoked during pregnancy, which ranks well above the national rate of 10.7 percent, relates directly to the rates of unhealthy birth outcomes in the state.

“A baby with a low birth weight is more susceptible to health problems throughout its life and 34 percent less likely to graduate from high school,” Grieshop-Goodwin said.

Alex Soriano, a neonatologist for The Medical Center, said Warren County may be outperforming the state rate for poor birth outcomes due to greater access to health care services, as well as a smaller portion of residents living in poverty compared to many other counties.

More importantly, according to Soriano, the county’s rates may be attributed in part to the educational resources available to parents-to-be.

“It all boils down to education, especially on how to lead a healthier lifestyle during pregnancy,” Soriano said.

Tammy Drake, coordinator of the Health Access Nurturing Development Services program for the Barren River District Health Department, leads efforts to educate first-time parents on lifestyle changes they need to make during and after pregnancy.

The 16 people in the district who make up the HANDS program make weekly visits to first-time parents during their pregnancy and for up to two years after the baby is born.

“What we do with mothers is talk about the importance of keeping prenatal appointments, the changes the body goes through and we show them what exactly happens to your baby when you smoke during the pregnancy,” said Drake, whose program serves 200 families in the Barren River district.

Drake said that while she encounters teen parents as part of the program, the majority of the first-time parents she visits are between 20 and 24 years of age.

In discussing smoking with first-time parents, she goes into the detrimental effects on the health of the baby caused by smoking, including low birth weight and various physical and developmental disabilities.

“I’d like to see Kentucky come up in these (rankings) and hopefully if we keep educating and making parents aware that will happen,” Drake said.

STATE RANKINGS 2005

Percent low birthweight: 9.1 percent, ranked 39th

Preterm births: 15.2 percent, 46th

Total teen births: 12.1 percent, 40th

Births to mothers who smoked while pregnant: 26.1 percent, 36th

County rates all births 2003-05

Percent low birthweight: Allen 9%, Barren 10%, Butler 8%, Edmonson 7%, Logan 14%, Simpson 9%,

Warren 7%

Preterm: Allen 12%, Barren 14%, Butler 10%, Edmonson 13%, Logan 10%, Simpson 14%, Warren 12%

Teen births: Allen 48 per 1,000 births; Barren 60/1,000; Butler 51/1,000; Edmonson 51/1,000; Logan 61/1,000; Simpson 79/1,000; Warren 24/1,000

Births to mothers who smoked while pregnant: Allen, 34%, Barren 26%, Butler 31%, Edmonson 33%, Logan 35%, Simpson 27%, Warren 19%

Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation