Table 1.
Characteristics of 884 ELBW Children Born in South Carolina From January 1996 to December 1998*
| Characteristics | n (%) |
|---|---|
| Maternal characteristics | |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| Black | 561 (63) |
| Non-Hispanic white | 317 (34) |
| Hispanic white† | 15 (2) |
| Other | 6 (1) |
| Age <20 y | 196 (22) |
| Education ≥12 y | 654 (74) |
| Any previous live births | 409 (46) |
| Zip code >50% urban | 551 (62) |
| Maternal county‡ | |
| 1 | 89 (10) |
| 2 | 78 (9) |
| 3 | 75 (8) |
| All others | 642 (73) |
| Child characteristics | |
| Male | 449 (51) |
| Birth hospital level | |
| 3 | 729 (82) |
| 2 | 103 (12) |
| 1 | 52 (6) |
| Multiple-gestation birth | 135 (15) |
| Birth weight 750–999 g (vs 401–749 g) | 541 (61) |
| Medicaid characteristics | |
| Ever enrolled in Medicaid during ages 0–3 | 733 (83) |
| Enrolled in Medicaid by the time of hospital discharge | 574 (65) |
| NMI I–III§ | 227 (40) |
| NMI IV§ | 11 (2) |
| NMI V§ | 336 (59) |
ELBW =extremely low birth weight; NMI =Neonatal Medical Index.
All Hispanics also identified themselves as white.
Three counties (of the 46 counties in the state) with the highest numbers and proportions of ELBW children born in level 3 hospitals.
NMI scores were calculated from the claims data of each infant enrolled in Medicaid during the initial hospitalization period using a set of diagnosis and procedure codes mentioned in the NMI algorithm. The program was run for NMI IV and NMI V because these are the categories that may be clinically important. NMI I–III was the default category for individuals who were not classified as IV or V. Therefore, separate numbers for NMI I–III are not reported.