Community Assessment Data
A Guide to Understanding the Well-Being of Children & Families in Erie County, Pennsylvania

Tobacco Use During Pregnancy

CHARTS

Percentage of Births to Mothers Who Used Tobacco

Tobacco Use During Pregnancy by County for 2000

Tobacco Use During Pregnancy by Cities for 2000


MEASUREMENT

Figures for Pennsylvania, the Urban Third Class Counties¹ and Urban Third Class Cities² are from the PA Health Department while information on the City of Erie, Erie County, PA & USA in addition to the information by race is from the Erie County Department of Health.³ The percentage of women using tobacco during pregnancy is the number of women reporting using tobacco during pregnancy divided by the number of births, and multiplied by 100.

Because of this being a self-reported factor, there is a high probability that the percentages reflect an underestimate of those actually using tobacco during pregnancy. In addition, there may be large numbers of cases in which the tobacco use is unknown. These are reported when the information was available.

State data was provided by the Bureau of Health Statistics and Research, Pennsylvania Department of Health. Local data was provided by the Erie County Department of Health, Erie County Vital Statistics Database and Health Care Cost Summit – Health Status indicators Project. These entities specifically disclaim responsibility for any analyses, interpretations or conclusions.

DESCRIPTION

Tobacco use is one of the largest preventable causes of adverse outcomes for infants. Smoking increases the likelihood of low weight births, health problems for both mother and child during pregnancy and poor infant health. The reduction of tobacco use during pregnancy can reduce poor outcomes for infants and greatly reduce the costs of medical care for both mother and child.

DATA ANALYSIS

• Although the percentage of women using tobacco during pregnancy has fallen, the rate for Erie County is 119.7% higher than the U.S. while the City of Erie percentage is 152.5% higher than the U.S. in 2000.
• Erie County has the highest rate of Urban Third Class Counties while the City of Erie has the highest rate of Urban Third Class Cities.
• The percentage for Whites in Erie County is 97.0% higher than the national percentage while the City of Erie is 128.8% higher than the U.S.
• For Blacks, the percentage of women using tobacco during pregnancy was 261.5% higher for Erie County than the U.S. rate. For the City of Erie, the difference is 271.4% higher than the U.S.

FOOTNOTE

¹ Resident Live Births and Tobacco Use During Pregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2003, from http://webserver.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/bthtob2000.pdf.

² Resident Live Births by Tobacco Use During Pregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2003, from http://webserver.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/bthtobmunic2000.pdf.

³ Percentage of Tobacco Use by Pregnant Females. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2003, from http://www.ecdh.org/documents/Tobacco_Use.pdf.