Study finds kids count in Idaho

A recent study shows that Idaho stacks up pretty well against other states when it comes to children getting a healthy start on life.

But that doesn't mean that Idahoans can afford to relax efforts to give children the best start possible, one of the study's authors said.

A nationwide study of vital statistics found that Idaho ranked in the top 10 states for low percentages of low-birth-weight babies, preterm births, births to unmarried women and births to teen mothers who were already mothers.

"The overall picture is that Idaho is doing pretty well," said Richard Wertheimer, a senior research associate at Child Trends, a nonpartisan research center. He co-authored The Right Start for America's Newborns, a report commissioned by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The report tracked eight measures of a healthy start to life. Idaho did better than average in five areas, while it was on par with the national average in others.

Idaho is faltering in three areas, however.

"In all three cases, you're stronger than the rest of the nation, but you're headed in the wrong direction," Wertheimer said.

Idaho ranks high for its low number of preterm and low-birth- weight babies. But those percentages are increasing, part of a nationwide trend.

Preterm infants are more likely to be neurologically impaired and have educational deficits that persist into adulthood, Wertheimer said.

"They never catch up as a group," he said.

Low-birth-weight babies also have a high probability of experiencing social and motor skills problems, he said.

The percentage of low-birth-weight babies born in Idaho is 6.2 percent and 7.6 percent nationwide.

The percentage of preterm births is 10.2percent in the state and 11.8 percent nationwide.

The Right Start report notes that women who do not receive adequate prenatal care are more likely to give birth to low-birth- weight babies. Research also shows that women who lack health insurance are less likely to seek pre-natal care.

Idaho ranked 37th in the nation for the number of births to mothers receiving late or no prenatal care - 3.9 percent.

In another negative trend, the rate of unwed mothers has increased from 16.7 percent in 1990 to 21.6 percent in 1999. The national average is 33percent.

Marriage matters for a number of reasons, Wertheimer said: "Kids growing up with unmarried mothers are more likely to drop out of school, more likely to get pregnant as teenagers and are more likely to have divorces ... There's a whole list of things. That doesn't mean it's not possible to do an excellent job as an unmarried mother, but it's a lot more difficult."

Idaho's teen birthrate remains close to the national average at 12.2percent in 1999. But it has been gradually dropping over the past decade from 13.3 percent in 1991. The national average is 12.3 percent.

But the state has a much lower percentage of teen mothers with more than one child than the national average; 16.9 percent compared with 21.2 percent nationwide. That, too, is a trend that's showing improvement over the decade.

Idaho ranked 21st nationwide for the percentage of mothers who smoked during pregnancy.

The purpose of the study is to help state leaders make policy decisions.

"The nation as a whole made modest progress in improving birth outcomes during a very prosperous decade," said William O'Hare, who runs the Kids Count project. "Now, states face the challenge of improving birth outcomes in a more difficult economic period."

And while Idaho is doing comparatively well, Wertheimer said there's plenty of room for improvement.

"Nobody can afford to rest on their laurels," he said.

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