What does this measure?
The percentage of babies born four weeks before the mother's due date, out of all live births. This means the gestational age of the baby is less than 37 weeks.
Why is this important?
Preterm babies have a higher prevalence of four major disabilities (cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, vision impairment and hearing loss), all of which require special education services. In addition, preterm babies are at greater risk for lower cognitive scores and behavioral problems, and care is expensive. Premature births are sometimes associated with maternal smoking, alcohol or drug use, depression or experiencing abuse.
How is our county performing?
In 2021, 10% of Worcester County births were preterm, similar to the state rate of 9% and slightly lower than the national rate of 12%. Rates have remained fairly steady in Worcester County since 2015, ranging between 8-10%.
Notes about the data
The proportion is calculated out of all live births, except those for which gestational age is unknown.
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester County | 9% | 8% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 10% | ||||||||||||
| Athol | 10% | 7% | 9% | 10% | 7% | 11% | 8% | ||||||||||||
| Clinton | 14% | 10% | 9% | 10% | 6% | 11% | 12% | ||||||||||||
| Fitchburg | 9% | 8% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 10% | ||||||||||||
| Gardner | 7% | 4% | 6% | 4% | 8% | 12% | 11% | ||||||||||||
| Northbridge | 10% | 9% | 5% | 14% | 8% | 6% | 14% | ||||||||||||
| Southbridge | 12% | 8% | 6% | 11% | 11% | 9% | 11% | ||||||||||||
| Spencer | 9% | 12% | 9% | 10% | 14% | 12% | 16% | ||||||||||||
| Webster | 9% | 6% | 8% | 11% | 9% | 11% | 12% | ||||||||||||
| Westborough | 10% | 7% | 15% | 8% | 6% | 4% | 4% | ||||||||||||
| Worcester | 11% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 10% | 11% | 10% | ||||||||||||
| Massachusetts | 9% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | |||||||||
| Additional Worcester County localities | |||||||||||||||||||
Notes: Preterm is less than 37 weeks of pregnancy.
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester County | 799 | 705 | 696 | 715 | 768 | 740 | 814 | ||||||||||||
| Athol | 11 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 13 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Clinton | 25 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 18 | 21 | ||||||||||||
| Fitchburg | 45 | 46 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 47 | 50 | ||||||||||||
| Gardner | 17 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 24 | 24 | ||||||||||||
| Northbridge | 21 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 23 | ||||||||||||
| Southbridge | 28 | 17 | 12 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 23 | ||||||||||||
| Spencer | 11 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 18 | ||||||||||||
| Webster | 17 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 24 | ||||||||||||
| Westborough | 24 | 15 | 37 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Worcester | 255 | 206 | 215 | 223 | 246 | 244 | 222 | ||||||||||||
| Massachusetts | 6,269 | 6,315 | 6,177 | 6,002 | 6,168 | 6,272 | 6,172 | 6,196 | 5,811 | 6,176 | |||||||||
| Additional Worcester County localities | |||||||||||||||||||
Notes: Preterm is less than 37 weeks of pregnancy. Due to small numbers (n=1-4), exact count not provided.
