State maternal and child expenditures and low birthweight infants: a descriptive analysis

This study examines the relationship over time between state public health spending for maternal and child health and rates of low birthweight infants. Using expenditure data from the Public Health Foundation and National Center for Health Statistics, we compare the 10 states with the highest and lowest rates of low birthweight infants in 1980 and the 10 states with the most improved and least improved low birthweight rates over a 10-year period. We hypothesize that the 10 states with the best low birthweight rates and 10 states with the most improvement in low birthweight rates will be the states with the highest levels of maternal and child health expenditures per birth. We find no support for the hypothesis in either group of states. At the state level, maternal and child public health expenditures do not appear correlated with states that are the most successful or are making the most improvement in low birthweight infants.