Health

More pregnant mothers smoking, rates particularly high in rural counties —Chart

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Michigan Births by Mothers Who Smoked During Pregnancy- 2014

County
Rate

Alcona
44.9

Alger
38

Allegan
19.5

Alpena
44.7

Antrim
34

Arenac
36.2

Baraga
46.4

Barry
23.6

Bay
36.6

Benzi
29.7

Berrien
23.8

Branch
26.2

Calhoun
26.1

Cass
34.1

Charlevoix
33.7

Cheboygan
34.5

Chippewa
39.9

Clare
41.9

Clinton
20.3

Crawford
47.7

Delta
37.3

Dickinson
24.8

Eaton
25.5

Emmet
26.5

Genesee
24.2

Gladwin
28.3

Gogebic
37.1

Grand Traverse
25.5

Gratiot
32.5

Hillsdale
34.8

Houghton
21.3

Huron
24.7

Ingham
22.6

Ionia
24.8

Iosco
39.5

Iron
32.4

Isabella
26.6

Jackson
30.7

Kalamazoo
21.4

Kalkaska
41.6

Kent
12.8

Keweenaw
25.5

Lake
39.7

Lapeer
29.9

Leelanau
21.3

Lenawee
23.2

Livingston
22.3

Luce
45.2

Mackinac
35.7

Macomb
19.1

Manistee
37.4

Marquette
30.3

Mason
25.6

Mecosta
31.2

Menominee
37.4

Midland
25.7

Missaukee
25.4

Monroe
26.6

Montcalm
26.3

Montmorency
36.8

Muskegon
33.2

Newaygo
30.5

Oakland
14

Oceana
28.5

Ogemaw
39.1

Ontonagon
34.4

Osceola
33.3

Oscoda
34.4

Otsego
33.7

Ottawa
11.2

Presque Isle
38

Roscommon
46.9

Saginaw
32.5

Saint Clair
30.9

Saint Joseph
27.8

Sanilac
26.3

Schoolcraft
42.9

Shiawasee
34.4

Tuscola
32.9

Van Buren
21.6

Washtenaw
18.2

Wayne
18.9

Wexford
33.8

Health

More pregnant mothers smoking, rates particularly high in rural counties

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By BRIDGET BUSH
Capital News Service
LANSING– Limited educational resources for smoking prevention and cessation, combined with limitless high-risk addictive substances caused a spurt in women who smoke during pregnancy, policy experts and educators say. Babies of smokers are at an increased risk of malnourishment, preterm birth, asthma, childhood obesity and sudden death, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “More mothers smoking during pregnancy means more babies are being born with lifelong complications,” said Alicia Guevara-Warren, Kids Count project director at the Michigan League for Public Policy. The number of births to women who smoked while pregnant skyrocketed 18 percent from 2008 to 2014, according to a recent report by the league. That means that 21.4 percent of all live births in Michigan are to mothers who smoked during pregnancy, the 27th-highest rate in the country.