A new report released Tuesday morning sheds light on how Michigan children enter the world. The Michigan League for Human Service's Right Start 2009 report examines eight factors affecting a child's start in life from 2005-2007. Kids Count Director Jane Zehnder-Merrell says the numbers vary county to county depending on each community's specific priorities.
Zehnder-Merrell says Berrien County improved in 7 of the 8 indicators during the last seven years. She says the county saw a 25% decline in teen mothers and a 22% drop in pre-term births.
But Zehnder-Merrell says what needs attention is the number of mothers receiving late or no prenatal care in the county. She says 6% of mothers don't receive this vital medical attention.
Like Berrien County, Zehnder-Merrell says Van Buren County also experienced a dramatic increase in the number of women receiving late or no prenatal care. But, the number of mothers smoking during pregnancy and the number of pre-term births are down. As for Cass County, it saw improvements in 5 of the 8 indicators, with big strides in the number of mothers receiving late or no prenatal care. But she says the county saw hardly any improvement in teen pregnancy and the number of mothers with less than 12 years education.
Zehnder-Merrell says it's important for the state to consider individual counties' improvements when deciding state budgets.
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