Reports and Statistics Index Page
- In 2017, 82,251 infants were born to Indiana residents. The number of live births represents a decrease from 2016 (83,063). For details, see Table 1.
- Of 82,251 infants born to Indiana residents in 2017, 79,448 were singletons, 2,662 were twins, 115 were triplets, and 15 were quadruplets. (NOTE: See definition of multiple birth in the Glossary of Terms).
- During 2017, 41,889 (50.9%) infants were male and 40,359 (49.1%) were female, resulting in a sex ratio of 1,038 males per every 1,000 females. For details, see Table 1.
- In 2017, there were 5,152 live births to mothers under 20 years of age accounting for 6.3 percent of the total number of live births. Of these, 3,905 were born to white women under 20 years of age (5.8% of all white births) and 1,030 were born to black women under 20 years of age (9.5% of all black births). There were 734 births to Hispanic (any race) women under 20 years of age (9.6% of all Hispanic (any race) births). For full age-group details, see Table 2 and Table 3. For by-county details, see Table 29.
- For a large majority of the 82,251 births, both the mother and the father were white (68.7%). Both the mother and father were black for 8.0 percent of births. Both the mother and father were Hispanic (any race) for 5.9 percent of the births. For 12.4 percent of births, the race of the father was not reported. For details, see Table 10 and Table 10a.
- The change in age-specific birth rate for women age 15–19 years was a 3.0 percent decrease from 2016 (23.5) to 2017 (22.8). Births among women in this age group have been declining for years. For details, see Table 13. For by-county details, see Table 30.
- The 2017 general fertility rate (GFR) was 63.5 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44 years which is slightly lower than the 2016 GFR of 64.2 per 1,000 women ages 15–44 years. For details, see Table 13. For by-county details, see Table 31.
- The 2017 total fertility rate (TFR) was 1,874 for all races combined. This rate is lower than the theoretical replacement level rate of 2,100. The TFRs for white and black women were 1,822 and 1,988, respectively. The TFR for Hispanic (any race) women was 2,202. For details, see Table 13. For by-county details, see Table 31.
- There were 6,811 liveborn infants classified as low birthweight (LBW) or less than 2,500 grams (5 lb 8 oz). The percentage of LBW has remained stable in recent years. Infants born to black mothers had a higher percentage of LBW (13.5%) than infants born to white mothers (7.5%) in 2017. The LBW percentage of Hispanic (any race) was 6.9 percent. For details, see Table 5 and Table 14. For by-county details, see Table 32. For by-city details, see Table 35.
- There were 1,167 (1.4%) liveborn infants classified as very low birthweight (VLBW) or less than 1,500 grams (3 lb 5 oz). Infants born to black mothers had a higher percentage of VLBW (2.8%) than infants born to white mothers (1.2%). The percentage of Hispanic (any race) VLBW infants was 1.1 percent. The percentage of liveborn infants born to black mothers classified as VLBW was 133% greater than those born to white mothers; those classified as LBW was 80% greater. For details, see Table 15. For by-county details, see Table 32. For by-city details, see Table 35.
- In Indiana, 13.5 percent of women who gave birth in 2017 reported smoking during pregnancy, unchanged from 2016. Of the 11,100 who smoked during pregnancy, white mothers (14.8%) had a higher percentage of smoking than black mothers (10.1%). The percentage of Hispanic (any race) women who reported smoking during pregnancy was 3.6 percent. For details, see Table 20 and Table 21. For by-county details, see Table 32. For by-city details, see Table 35. See Preface for more details concerning Certificate Revision.
- In 2017, 33,709 (41.0%) of infants were born to mothers on Medicaid. Of those mothers on Medicaid, 35.9 percent were white, and 69.1 percent were black. For Hispanic (any race) mothers, 67.7 percent reported being on Medicaid. For details, see Table 22 and Table 23. For by-county details, see Table 32. For by-city details, see Table 35. See Preface for more details concerning the Addition of Medicaid Reporting.
- Statewide, 56,394 (68.6%) mothers began prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy. Of those with prenatal care in the first trimester, white mothers had a higher percentage receiving care (71.3%) than black mothers (55.2%). The percentage of Hispanic (any race) mothers who received prenatal care in the first trimester was 53.8 percent. For details, see Table 24. For by-county details, see Table 32. For by-city details, see Table 35. See Preface for more details concerning Certificate Revision.
- In Indiana, 42.8 percent of the 82,251 live births in 2017 were to unmarried parents. Of the 35,172 births to unmarried parents, proportionately more black mothers (77.1%) than white mothers (38.1%) were not married to the infant’s father at the time of the birth. Of 7,671 Hispanic (any race) births, 55.2% were to unmarried parents. For details, see Table 25. For by-county details, see Table 32. For by-city details, see Table 35.