Number of Low Birthweight Live Births and Rate of Low Birthweight Live Births by Race & Ancestry of Mother
and Kessner Index
Michigan 2023
Race & Ancestry of Mother	Kessner Index
	Total			Adequate			Intermediate			Inadequate
	Live Births	Low Birthweight	Rate	Live Births	Low Birthweight	Rate	Live Births	Low Birthweight	Rate	Live Births	Low Birthweight	Rate
Total	99,179	8,860	89.3	69,035	5,299	76.8	22,537	2,426	107.6	7,607	1,135	149.2
White	72,504	5,179	71.4	52,207	3,222	61.7	15,418	1,337	86.7	4,879	620	127.1
Black	17,895	2,831	158.2	10,993	1,560	141.9	4,905	848	172.9	1,997	423	211.8
American Indian	1,012	96	94.9	637	49	76.9	278	32	115.1	97	15	154.6
Asian & Pacific Islander	4,440	467	105.2	3,251	321	98.7	927	105	113.3	262	41	156.5
Hispanic	7,528	599	79.6	4,681	324	69.2	2,042	184	90.1	805	91	113.0
Mid Easterner	4,599	373	81.1	3,413	254	74.4	885	90	101.7	301	29	96.3

Notes:

Rates are per 1,000 live births.

Kessner Index: The Kessner Index is a classification of prenatal care based on the month of pregnancy in which prenatal care began, the number of prenatal visits and the length of pregnancy (i.e. for shorter pregnancies, fewer prenatal visits constitute adequate care.)

Kessner Index Measurement Definitions:

Adequate: Care that began within the first trimester and included an average of at least one or two additional prenatal visits per month of gestation, depending on the length of gestation.

Intermediate: Care that began during the second trimester of pregnancy with correspondingly fewer visits, or began during the first trimester but with fewer visits than would be appropriate for the length of gestation.

Inadequate: When no care was received or if care began during the third trimester. It is also inadequate if care began during the first or second trimester but less than five visits occurred, when the length of gestation was 34 weeks or more. When the length of gestation was less than 34 weeks, care is defined as inadequate when care began during the first or second trimester but a number of visits less that four occurred, that number depending on the actual weeks of gestation.

Records with unknown level of prenatal care are included only in the total row.

Low Birthweight: Live births weighing less than 2,500 grams.

Source: 2023 Geocoded Michigan Birth Certificate Registry.
Division for Vital Records & Health Statistics, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services