Maternal Demographic Trends for Five Metropolitan Atlanta Counties, 1968--2013

• Activity Number: 444
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Government Statistics Section
• Author(s): Clinton J. Alverson* and Michael J. Atkinson
• Companies: CDC/ONDIEH/NCBDDD and CDC/ONDIEH/NCBDDD
• Keywords: Demographics ; Public Health

Abstract

The Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program is a population-based surveillance system for birth defects. Analysis involving maternal and infant characteristics helps to examine patterns in birth defects risk. Using Georgia vital records, we determine resident live birth(RLB) trends from 1968-2013 for selected maternal and child characteristics. Trends include increasing RLBs to mothers aged 35+ years and decreasing RLBs to mothers aged < 20 years. RLBs to Hispanic mothers increase from 1994-2007, then decrease from 2008-2013. RLBs to White, non-Hispanic mothers decrease from 1994-2007 and level out from 2008-2013. RLBs to Black, non-Hispanic mothers are level until 2000, and gently decline thereafter. From 1980-2007, race and ethnicity were coded under single fields, with the majority of Hispanic resident mothers reporting race as White. Beginning in 2008, our data sources code race and ethnicity with multiple fields, and a substantial proportion of Hispanic mothers in 2008-2013 report other or non-specific race, resulting in a sizable shift in race distribution. Understanding the underlying trends of the population is important to the accurate interpretation of risk