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APPENDIX A


Glossary of Terms

Age-specific Birth Rate - The number of live births for a specific age group for every 1,000 female population in that age group.

Alcohol Use during Pregnancy - This information is self-reported by the mother.

Birth Weight - The amount a liveborn infant weighs at birth.

Crude Birth Rate - The number of live births per 1,000 population in a year.

First Trimester - The first three months of pregnancy.

General Fertility Rate (GFR) - The number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 in a year.

Gestation - Weeks of pregnancy as reported on the certificate of live birth.

Length of Gestation - The number of weeks since the last menstrual period began. In 1989, the "clinical estimate of gestation" was added to the birth certificate. In this report the clinical estimate is used to determine length of gestation rather than the date of the last normal menstrual cycle. When the clinical estimate is missing, the length of gestation is calculated from the date of the last normal menstrual cycle. The resulting value is substituted for the missing clinical estimate if the calculation produces a reasonable value.

Live Birth - A live birth is any infant who breathes or shows any other evidence of life (such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles) after separation from the mother's uterus, regardless of the duration of gestation.

Live Birth Order - The number of liveborn children including the current birth. In multiple deliveries, the live birth order increases sequentially with each child delivered.

Low Birth Weight (LBW) - Birth weight less than 2,500 grams (5 lb. 8 oz.).

MARS - The Indiana population from 2000 census counts, modified by age, race, and sex.

Multiple Birth - The number of live births that resulted from multiple pregnancies (i.e., a twin, triplet, quadruplet, or quintuplet pregnancy) is reported in this document. Data presented in this report only indicate the number of births from the multiple pregnancy that were delivered alive, not the number of multiple pregnancies that occurred to Indiana women. Because some multiple pregnancies may result in both live births and stillborn fetuses, the total number of multiple births may not be an even multiple of the specified multiple pregnancy (e.g., an odd number of twins).

Multiple Birth Ratio - The number of live births in multiple deliveries divided by the total number of live births times 1,000.

Neonatal - The first 28 days of an infant's life.

Not Married - Includes women who were never married, and those who are divorced or widowed.

Postterm Birth - Delivery of a liveborn infant of more than 41 weeks gestation.

Preterm Birth - Delivery of a liveborn infant prior to 37 weeks gestation.

Primary Cesarean - A woman's first cesarean delivery.

Proportion - The number of occurrences (e.g., births) in a certain group divided by the total occurrences during the same time period; a proportion can also be considered a percentage.

Resident Birth - The birth of an infant whose mother's usual residence is in Indiana, regardless of where the birth occurred (inside Indiana or elsewhere).

Race - Race of the mother or father. In this report, race is categorized as "white", "black", "other", and "total", where "other" means all other races besides white and black, including unknown, and "total" represents all races combined. In Indiana, "Hispanic" is classified as an individual's ethnicity, not his or her race; all Hispanics are classified as either "white Hispanic", "black Hispanic", or "other Hispanic". Because they are so few in number, characteristics of births to Hispanic women are not examined in this report.

Reliability of Ratios - Some of the ratios shown in this report are based on a small number of live births by age, race or marital status. The ratios based on small numbers are unstable. Ratios based on less than 20 live births for women in particular age groups or marital status groups are not reported.

Repeat Cesarean - A second or higher occurrence of a cesarean section to any individual woman.

Reported Pregnancies - Reported pregnancies include live births, fetal deaths and induced terminated pregnancies that occurred in Indiana to Indiana residents.

Sex Ratio - The number of male infants born in a year for every 1,000 female infants.

Smoked during Pregnancy - This information is self-reported by the mother.

Stable Rate - A rate containing a minimum of 20 occurrences or events (e.g., births) per unit being examined (e.g., city, county, and rate).

Stable Proportion - A percent containing a minimum of 4 occurrences or events (e.g., number of LBW births) in the numerator and 20 events in the denominator (e.g., number of total births).

Teen Mother - A female between the ages of 10 to 19 years.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) - The number of births that 1,000 women would have if the current year's age-specific birth rate remained constant throughout their childbearing years.

Unmarried Parents - At the time of delivery, the mother was not married to her infant's father. This was formerly termed "out-of-wedlock".

VBAC - Vaginal birth after a previous cesarean section.

VBAC Rate - Of all women who had a previous birth by cesarean section, the proportion who delivered this birth vaginally. See also the Technical Notes in Appendix B.

Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) - Birth weight less than 1,500 grams (3 lb. 5 oz.).

Vital Statistics - Information obtained from official documents filed with the Indiana State Department of Health, to include certificates of birth, death, marriage, and terminated pregnancy.

Women of Childbearing Age - By historical convention, women between the ages of 15 and 44 are generally considered women of childbearing age; these inclusive ages are used to calculate the General Fertility Rate.

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