EFFECTS ON

BIRTHRATES IN
NORTHEAST FLORIDA

ASCENSION ST. VINCENT’S HEALTH CENTER

Serena Nigro Professor Lopez ENC3250 Password: Peter Sarsgaard

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INTRODUCTION
Birth rates in Northeast Florida vary based county to county. Some reasons
include social climate, region, as well as the societal and income factors
at play. With five counties of Duval, St. John’s, Clay, Flagler, and Baker we
can see how these factors correlate to birth rates. We can gage how the
communities are affected and insure there have not been any drastic,
concerning changes shown through factors. Northeast Florida sees an
array of effects on birthrates, shown through the live births, births to mothers
under 35, and level of income earned.
iLIVE BIRTH RATES 2018-2020
Live birth rates per county are
helpful in assessing how the
areas are doing. A drastic
shift in birth rate would give
insight into if the community
was struggling. As shown in
Figure 1, live birth rates have
stayed consistent in all
counties. Each county grew
the most in 2019, aside from
Figure 1, "Live Births in 2018-2020." Created from info retrieved from FL
Flagler County. The figure Health Charts database. Copyright 2020.

shows that Duval has the

largest number of births due to their population size with an average rate
of 12831 births per year. This compared to Baker’s 353 births per year gives
insight into the size of these counties. Additionally, we can gather that in
2020, the fewest number of live births occurred which correlates to the
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Covid-19 pandemic. The overall trend of the data is consistent, so there is

no need for concern regarding the birth rates based off of this variable.

LEVEL OF INCOME EARNED IN 2020 iiiii

Income level plays a

major role in multiple
aspects of a parent’s life:
their ability to provide for
their child, quality of life,
and the way they parent
due to stress levels.
Higher income families
have a higher quality of
life, which allows
intentional family
Figure 2, "Income in 2020." Created from info retrieved from US Census
database. Copyright 2020.
planning. Higher income
families have fewer children. The children have access to more luxuries.
Figure 2 shows that St. John’s had the highest level of income in 2020, as
average household incomes total $73944. Additionally, they are located
by the water, which correlates with higher levels of income. With an
average population of 273425, the quality of life in St. John’s is higher than
we see in Baker, whose average household income is only $36552. In Baker,
families do not have the same access to resources due to their low
earnings, making it more difficult to get the bare necessity of diapers,
childcare, healthcare, and a stable place to call home. In these situations,
the number of multiple births is higher, and children are having poorer
qualities of life. The level of income earned is directly correlated to birth
rates.
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BIRTHS TO MOTHERS UNDER 35 YEARS OLD

ivHaving a child is a big change in a parent’s life. For some, this is a well
thought out decision while others might be faced to deal with this change
unexpectedly. As shown in Figure 2, Baker County has a lower level of
average income, as
well as a smaller
population. This
effects the chance
of being a young
mother. Figure 3
shows that 51% of
mothers are under
35 or considered
“young mothers.”
Clay and Flagler
have more normal Figure 2, "Births to Mothers Under 35 in 2020." Created from info retrieved from FL
Health Charts database. Copyright 2020.
birth rates to young
mothers, averaging 37% of mothers are young between the two.

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE DATA SETS

Northeast Florida counties birthrates can be analyzed through data points
such as the average household income earned, rate of births to young
mothers, and the rate of live births in one county. Since there have not
been any dramatic changes over the course of the past few years, it is
safe to assume that these counties’ birthrates will remain similar. For
Ascension’s St. Vincent’s, it is important to monitor the birth rates to ensure
populations remain unaffected.

WORKS CITED:
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i https://www.flhealthcharts.gov/ChartsReports/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=Bir th.DataViewer&cid=25

ii https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/map/duvalcountyflorida/PST04
0221
iii https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nefrc.org%2 Fregional-
information&psig=AOvVaw3dfCXYDSw5tu63IUbnRHBX&ust=166419649671
0000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCNiPm6H9r_oCFQA
AAAAdAAAAABADcount

iv https://www.flhealthcharts.gov/ChartsDashboards/rdPage.aspx?rdRepor
t=Birth.DataViewer&cid=0001&txtAgeFrom=36&txtAgeTo=126
https://fredaccount.stlouisfed.org/datalists/286526