Sources of Data
The tables in Sections I and II are based on rates and ratios published in the
Arizona Health Status and Vital Statistics
annual report.
Information on live births and deaths in Sections III and IV is compiled from
the original documents filed with the Arizona Department of Health Services'
Office of Vital Records, and from transcripts of original certificates filed in other
states but affecting Arizona residents (copies of certificates for births and
deaths occurring to Arizona residents outside the United States are not sent to
Arizona).
Definitions
Rates
Rate is a measure of the frequency of some event in relation to a unit of
population during a specified time period such as a year; events in the
numerator of the year occur to individuals in the denominator. Rates express
the likelihood (or risk) of the event in the specified population during a
particular time and are generally expressed as units of population in the
denominator (per 1,000, per 100,000, and so forth).
Terms Related to Reproductive Health
Birth or Live Birth -
The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother
of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy
which, after such expulsion or extraction, breaths or shows any other evidence
of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite
movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut
or the placenta is attached.
Birth weight
- The weight of a neonate determined immediately after
delivery or as soon thereafter as possible.
Infant death
- Any death at any time from birth up to, but not including,
the first year of age (364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes from the moment of
birth).
Infant mortality rate
- Number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
Low-birthweight
- any neonate weighing less than 2,500 grams at birth
(less than 5 pounds 8 ounces).
Neonatal death
- Death of a liveborn neonate before the neonate
becomes 28 days old (up to and including 27 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes from
the moment of birth).
Neonatal mortality rate
- Number of neonatal deaths per 1,000 live
births.
Postneonatal death
- Any death of a liveborn infant at least 28 days of
age but less than one year of age.
Postneonatal mortality rate
- Number of postneonatal deaths per 1,000
live births.
Very low-birthweight
- Any neonate whose weight at birth is 1,500
grams or less (less than 3 pounds 5 ounces).
Medical Terms Used on the Birth Certificate
Medical risk factors for this pregnancy
Anemia
- Hemoglobin level of less than 10.0 g/dL during pregnancy, or
hematocrit of less than 30 percent during pregnancy.
Cardiac disease
- Disease of the heart.
Acute or chronic lung disease
- Disease of the lungs during pregnancy.
Diabetes
- Metabolic disorder characterized by excessive discharge of
urine and persistent thirst; includes juvenile onset, adult onset, and gestational
diabetes during pregnancy.
Genital herpes
- Infection of the skin of the genital area by herpes
simplex virus.
Hydramnios/Oligohydramnios
- Any noticeable excess (hydramnios) or
lack (oligohydramnios) of amniotic fluid.
Hemoglobinopathy
- A blood disorder caused by alteration in the
genetically determined molecular structure of hemoglobin (for example, sickle
cell anemia).
Hypertension, chronic
- Blood pressure persistently greater than 140/90,
diagnosed prior to onset of pregnancy or before the 20th week of gestation.
Hypertension, pregnancy-associated
- An increase in blood pressure of
at least 30 mm hg systolic or 15 mm hg diastolic on two measurements taken 6
hours apart after the 20th week of gestation.
Eclampsia
- The occurrence of convulsions and/or coma unrelated to other
cerebral conditions in women with signs and symptoms of preeclampsia.
Incompetent cervix
- Characterized by painless dilation of the cervix in
the second trimester or early in the third trimester of pregnancy, with
premature expulsion of membranes though cervix and ballooning of the
membranes into vagina, followed by rupture of the membrane and subsequent
expulsion of the fetus.
Previous infant 4,000+ grams
- The birthweight of a previous live-born
child was over 4,000 grams (8lbs.14oz.).
Previous preterm or small-for-gestational-age-infant
-
Previous birth
of an infant prior to term (before 37 completed weeks of gestation) or of an
infant weighing less than the 10th percentile for gestational age using a
standard weight for age chart.
Renal disease
- Kidney disease.
Rh Sensitization
- The process or state of becoming sensitized to the Rh
factor as when an Rh-negative woman is pregnant with an Rh-positive fetus.
Uterine bleeding
- Any clinically significant bleeding during the pregnancy
taking into consideration the stage of pregnancy; any second or third trimester
bleeding or third trimester bleeding of the uterus prior to the onset of labor.
Health Status Profile of American Indians in Arizona, 2012 Data Book
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