Health Characteristics
Inadequate prenatal care is a hallmark of over 30% of births in the Texas-Mexico border region (LRGV, MRG, and WGB, Table 11), but premature and low-birth-weight births do not appear to be significant problems (Table 12). It has been hypothesized that the high birth weights along the Border should be attributed to gestational diabetes, since Hispanics are three times as likely to have diabetes. Infant mortality, often an indicator of quality of health, is better than the State average, with most health providers along the Border attributing this to the Hispanic Paradox[1]. In addition, many Mexican women deliver their babies in Texas for two reasons:  1) to receive better healthcare and 2) as a US citizen, the child can take advantage of the health care system later in life. Despite being born in Texas, the baby and mother return to Mexico after the delivery. There is concern that infant mortality rate is not a true reflection of infant death rates since there is no accounting for babies who return to Mexico. Death may go unreported to Mexican authorities, as the birth certificates can be “used” for other babies who will have access to social services in Texas. Prenatal care is better in the South Central and Coastal regions than in other parts of Texas. This may be a reflection of the efforts of the five Family Practice/Internal Medicine Residency Programs located in the two metropolitan areas of South Central and Coastal regions.

11. Birth Mothers, 2003
	Census Population 2000			Births			Births to Mothers 10-17		Births to Unwed Mothers			Inadequate Prenatal Care (Kessner Criteria) (%)
LRGV	978,369			26,702			1,733		8,195			33.8
MRG	239,814			6,740			495		1,910			37.2
WGB	138,267			2,685			237		899			31.4
South Central	1,807,868			30,700			1,723		11,270			16.6
South Coastal	505,567			7,693			484		3,486			20.7
12. Births, 2003
		Census Population 2000				Births		Premature Births (%)			Low Birth Weight (<2.500g) (%)
LRGV		978,369				26,702		10.7			6.9
MRG		239,814				6,740		11.8			7.1
WGB		138,267				2,685		10.7			7.6
South Central		1,807,868				30,700		11.5			8.6
South Coastal		505,567				7,693		11.8			8.6
South Texas		3,669,885				74,520		11.3			7.8
Texas		20,851,820				377,374		10.8			7.9
United States		281,422,000				4,022,000		na			7.8
Sources:		Texas Department of State Health Services (US Birth Data for 2002 from the US Statistical Abstract)
In general, the Texas-Mexico Border regions have less of a problem with sexually transmitted diseases (Table 13).  In contrast, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV/AIDS are especially high in the South Central and Coastal regions.  Syphilis is a problem in the South Central region, but is much rarer in the MRG and Coastal regions.   13. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2004
			Census Population 2000		Chlamydia (Cases per 100k)			Gonorrhea (Cases per 100k)		Syphilis (Cases per 100k)			Living with HIV/AIDS (Cases per 100k)
LRGV			978,369		284.6			22.0		11.5			97.2
MRG			239,814		261.5			17.8		4.8			95.0
WGB			138,267		311.2			18.8		10.4			43.2
South Central			1,807,868		402.2			113.8		19.0			183.9
South Coastal			505,567		419.3			114.1		4.3			105.5
South Texas			3,669,885		358.7			78.3		13.8			138.5
Texas			20,851,820		311.8			108.1		18.6			229.2
United States			281,422,000		289.6			121.9		11.4			na
Sources:			Texas Dept of State Health Services (US Data for 2002 from US Statistical Abstract)

[1] Hispanic Paradox:  Hispanics with fewer advantages to accessing health care than non-Hispanics, seem to live longer and have healthier prenatal outcomes, on average, than their Anglo counterparts.