Demographics

Atlanta is the capital and largest populated city in Georgia. Atlanta is composed of several metropolitan areas that total more than 5.4 million people that make it the second largest in the Southeast and the ninth largest in the country (US Census Bureau, 2010). Because the actual city of Atlanta is only one metropolitan community, the population is much lower than the community as a whole. In 2006 (US Census Bureau, 2010), the estimated population of Atlanta was 486,411 which is up about 16.8% since 2000. Inside the city limits the city is divided almost 50/50 male and female ratio. However, the race population for Atlanta is very different from that of the state as a whole, African Americans make up 61.4% of the city whereas Caucasians only make up 33.2% (US Census Bureau, 2010). With the high rates of African Americans in Atlanta, one concern is the poverty level and the preterm birth rate of the city and state. According to City-Data (2010), the breakdown of poor residents in Atlanta that are African Americans is over 90,000. Because of the poverty level and many African American females living as single mothers, the preterm birth rate is at the all-time high for the state of Georgia. For this paper, the focus will be on preterm birth rate among African Americans in Atlanta, Georgia, and how it affects the children as they grow. The reason for choosing this population shows how a poor city and population have to deal with the geographical area as well as the poor health care offered. "Did you know that one in eight babies born in our country is premature' The rate is much higher than most of our third world countries. In fact the state of Georgia as a whole received an "F" on the Premature Birth Report Card in 2009” (Gordon, 2010). The United States preterm birth rate averaged was 7.6 % or less in 2010 and Georgia's preterm birth rate was 13.6 %. In Atlanta, the preterm rate is just below the state’s rate at 13 % (City-Data, 2010). One of the major concerns in Atlanta is that more preterm babies are born to mothers of poverty. Because these mothers cannot afford prenatal care or any health care, the babies suffer and usually result preterm or even worse.