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Passaic County Public Health Profile Report

Maternal Marital Status: Percentage of Live Births, 2021

  • Passaic
    40.6%
    95% Confidence Interval NA
    State
    31.8%
    U.S.
    40.1%
    NA=Data not available.
  • Passaic Compared to State

    gauge ranking
    Description of Gauge

    Description of the Gauge

    This graphic is based on the county data to the left. It compares the county value of this indicator to the state overall value.
    • Excellent = The county's value on this indicator is BETTER than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.
    • Watch = The county's value is BETTER than state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Improvement Needed = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Reason for Concern = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.

    The county value is considered statistically significantly different from the state value if the state value is outside the range of the county's 95% confidence interval. If the county's data or 95% confidence interval information is not available, a blank gauge image will be displayed with the message, "missing information."
    NOTE: The labels used on the gauge graphic are meant to describe the county's status in plain language. The placement of the gauge needle is based solely on the statistical difference between the county and state values. When selecting priority health issues to work on, a county should take into account additional factors such as how much improvement could be made, the U.S. value, the statistical stability of the county number, the severity of the health condition, and whether the difference is clinically significant.

Why Is This Important?

Nonmarital births are at higher risk of having adverse birth outcomes such as low birthweight, preterm birth, and infant mortality than are children born to married women.[https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr48/nvs48_16.pdf ^1^] Children born to single mothers typically have more limited social and financial resources.[https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/wedlock.pdf ^2^]

How Are We Doing?

The proportion of births to unmarried New Jersey mothers had been steadily increasing for several decades but peaked around 2012 and has been generally declining since then. The rates among Blacks and Hispanics are more than triple the rate among Whites, and the White rate is nearly 4 times the rate among Asians. Among those aged 25-44, the proportion of births to unmarried women in 2020 was double the rate in 1990. The share of births to unmarried mothers ranges from 15.3% in Morris to 62.8% in Cumberland County.

Related Indicators

Health Status Outcomes:


Note

Hudson and Warren Counties each have a large proportion (> 15%) of records missing mother's marital status, so records with unknown status were removed from the denominator for all counties, NJ, and the US. Interpret with caution.

Data Sources

Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health  

Measure Description for Maternal Marital Status

Definition: Marital status was determined by response to the following questions on the birth certificate: *For years 1970-1978 - Legitimate? *For years 1979-1988 - Is mother married? *For years after 1988 - Mother married? (At birth, conception, or any time between)
Numerator: Number of live births to unmarried mothers
Denominator: Total number of live births with known marital status

Indicator Profile Report

Births to Unmarried Mothers (exits this report)

Date Content Last Updated

08/15/2023
The information provided above is from the Department of Health's NJSHAD web site (https://nj.gov/health/shad). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Thu, 28 March 2024 16:23:08 from Department of Health, New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Web site: https://nj.gov/health/shad ".

Content updated: no date