Please click on the section that you would like to visit. Food For Thought Main Page Home Page Black Alabama's Heroes Civil Rights....Civil Wrongs Speeches, Writing And Thoughts Black Sports In Alabama Links My Resume Contact Us Support thatsalabama.com	HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE FOR BLACK ALABAMIANS This page is intended to show health and healthcare figures, statistics and information that are affecting the lives of black Alabamians in the 21st century. We have made every effort to ensure that every statistic and piece of information that we have quoted in this section is referenced with a link to the web site where the information is available. If you find an error or a broken or out of date link, please email us and let us know We would be delighted to hear any comments or suggestion concerning this page. If there is something that you would like us to add to these pages, please email us. STATISTICS The infant mortality rate for black children in Alabama is more than twice that for white children, and the gap is wider now than it was 20 years ago. Source: Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health 32.4% of live black babies have had less than adequate prenatal care, whereas the rate is just 16.7% for white babies. Source: Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health Only 71.6% of black women receive prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy compared to 88.9% of white women. Source: Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health The number of black babies born with a low birth weight is almost twice the number of white babies. Source: Auburn University Montgomery - Health Data Sheet for the State of Alabama The fetal death rate for black babies in Alabama during the year 2000 was 16.2%, whereas the rate for white babies was 6.3% Source: Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health There are nearly twice as many black children born to teenage mothers than white. Source: Auburn University Montgomery - Health Data Sheet for the State of Alabama The life expectancy for black males in Alabama is 4 years less than that for white males. Source: Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health. HEALTHCARE IN THE PREDOMINANTLY BLACK COUNTIES These figures become even more exaggerated if you look at the 10 counties in Alabama where the black population is greater than 50% County Black Population In Percent Macon 84.6 Greene 80.3 Lowndes 73.4 Sumter 73.2 Bullock 73.1 Wilcox 71.9 Perry 68.4 Dallas 63.3 Hale 59.0 Marengo 51.7 Source: Fedstats: Alabama: Black or African American persons, percent, 2000 As you can see, each of these counties is in the "black belt" region of the state. This area was once extremely prosperous due to its suitability for cotton growth but is now extremely poor and is often described as "Alabama's Third World." The figures detailed below look at healthcare statistics in these 10 counties. Please note however, that unless specified, the figures apply to both the black and white population of these counties. INFANT MORTALITY County Black Infant Mortality Per 1000 Live Births Macon 11.4 Greene 16.3 Lowndes 10.4 Sumter 21.9 Bullock 31.0 Wilcox 22.3 Perry 10.8 Dallas 3.2 Hale 25.9 Marengo 13.6 Average 16.7 State Average - Black 15.1 State Average - White 6.5 National Average - Black 14.0 National Average - White 5.8 Selected International Figures South Korea 7.6 Puerto Rica 9.3 Costa Rica 10.9 Jamaica 13.7 Granada 14.6 Sri Lanka 15.7 Source: Alabama Department of Public Health. Source: National Vital Statistics Report. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Data Base. LESS THAN ADEQUATE PRENATAL CARE County Black Births With Less Than Adequate Prenatal Care (%) Macon 37.4 Greene 56.7 Lowndes 36.5 Sumter 41.3 Bullock 43.3 Wilcox 49.2 Perry 45.6 Dallas 41.1 Hale 36.2 Marengo 38.2 Average 42.6 State Average - Black 32.4 State Average - White 16.7 National Average Unavailable Source: Alabama Department of Public Health. PRENATAL CARE IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY County Black Births Where Prenatal Care Began In The First Trimester (%) Macon Greene 53.5 Lowndes Sumter Bullock 64.2 Wilcox Perry Dallas 64.7 Hale 68.6 Marengo Average 62.8 State Average - Black 71.6 State Average - White 88.9 National Average - Black 74.1 National Average - White 85.1 Source: Alabama Department of Public Health. Source: National Vital Statistics Report. Please Note: We are currently attempting to obtain information for the remaining counties on the list. LOW BIRTH WEIGHT County Black Babies Born With Low Birth Weight (%) Macon 10.3 Greene 14.6 Lowndes 15.0 Sumter 14.2 Bullock 13.2 Wilcox 15.6 Perry 15.6 Dallas 11.0 Hale 10.9 Marengo 14.9 Average 13.5 State Average - Black 13.7 State Average - White 7.7 National Average - Black 13.1 National Average - White 6.6 Source: Alabama Department of Public Health. Source: National Vital Statistics Report. FETAL DEATH RATE County Fetal Death Rate For Black Babies Per 1000 Live Births Macon 15.2 Greene 0.0 Lowndes 20.7 Sumter 16.4 Bullock 46.5 Wilcox 0.0 Perry 16.1 Dallas 23.9 Hale 0.0 Marengo 27.1 Average 16.6 State Average - Black 16.2 State Average - White 6.3 National Average - Black 12.3 National Average - White 5.7 Source: Alabama Department of Public Health. Source: National Vital Statistics Report. BIRTHS TO TEENAGE MOTHERS County Black Births To Teenage Mothers (Per 1000 Females 10-19 Years Of Age) Macon 51.9 Greene 68.6 Lowndes 78.3 Sumter 55.1 Bullock 55.0 Wilcox 60.4 Perry 61.3 Dallas 79.7 Hale 55.0 Marengo 50.5 Average 61.6 State Average - Black 60.3 State Average - White 38.1 National Average Figures Not Available Source: Alabama Department of Public Health. LIFE EXPECTANCY County Life Expectancy - Both Races Macon 71.3 Greene 70.4 Lowndes 71.5 Sumter 73.4 Bullock 70.8 Wilcox 69.3 Perry 70.7 Dallas 71.8 Hale 73.5 Marengo 74.3 Average 71.7 State Average 74.0 National Average 76.7 Selected International Figures Albania 72.1 Bosnia 72.0 China 71.9 Columbia 70.9 El Salvador 70.3 Iran 70.3 Source: Alabama Health Data Sheet. Source: National Vital Statistics Report. Source: U.S. Census Bureau International Database SIGN UP TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER If you would like us to keep you updated with changes and improvements to thatsalabama.com, please enter your email address here:   Web www.thatsalabama.com If you would like to support thatsalabama.com with a donation via paypal, please click on this button:

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