Statistically Speaking...

I found the new stats from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention interesting:

-More babies are being born prematurely, partly because of the rise in twin births and in scheduled cesareans and inductions. The preterm delivery rate has gone up more than 30 percent since 1981. In 2004, about 12.5 percent of births were early arrivals (most moderately early, from 32 to 36 weeks).

-The number of low-birthweight babies (less than 5 1/2 lbs.) has been on the rise, which researchers say is due in part to more older moms, more twins being born, and the growing use of fertility treatments. About 8.1 percent of babies born in 2004 were low birthweight — the most reported since 1970, and a more than 16 percent climb since 1990.

-The number of cesarean deliveries has skyrocketed by more than 40 percent in the last decade to 29 percent of births, the highest rate ever reported in the United States.

-Almost 36 percent of U.S. babies were born to unmarried women in 2004 (that's about 1.5 million babies) — up 4 percent from a previous record high in 2003.

-More newborns arrive in the late summer/early fall months of July, August, and September than any other time of the year. Paul Sutton, a demographer for the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, says it makes sense if you think about what happens nine months earlier in most of the country — the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors with their sweeties. Also, some people plan births to coincide with summer vacations, especially teachers and other folks who get summers off. February had the fewest birthdays in 2003: about 307,000.

And here are the newest Frankie Stats:

-Frankie is in the upper 25% for weight and the lower 10% for height.

Yes, we’ve doomed this kid with “stocky” DNA.