Health & Well-Being
Women and girls in Western Massachusetts face unique health challenges, including higher rates of depression. Trans and gender diverse people also experience unique health concerns including limited access to transgender health care. Black and Indigenous maternal and infant mortality rates reflect social and economic factors and systemic discrimination in healthcare delivery and access to care.
Mental Health
Girls in Western MA consistently (across multiple school-based surveys) reported depressive symptoms or were assessed at high risk for depression at elevated rates.
Percent of Students at High Risk for Depression by Gender
Source: Prevention Needs Assessment Surveys, 2017 (Berkshire, Hampshire) & 2018 (Franklin, Springfield)
Western MA Youth Who Reported Feeling Sad or Hopeless (2020)
Youth up to age 24 who reported feeling so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing usual activities.
Source: MDPH COVID-19 Community Impact Survey, 2020
Teen Births
In 2016, the MA teen birth rate was among the lowest in the country at a rate of 8.5 per 1,000 compared to 20.3 per 1,000 nationally. Rates were 30.0–98% higher than the state rate in all Western MA counties except Hampshire. Large inequities exist among Latina teens, particularly in Hampden County, where the Latina teen birth rate was over four times that of the overall state rate. Latina teen births made up 74.4% of the teen births in Western MA.
Teen Birth Rates per 1,000 Teens 15–19 Years of Age by County, 2016 and 2020
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, 2020. Note that for Hampshire County there were no data provided for the 2020 rate.
Prenatal Care
Adequacy of prenatal care (APNC) is determined by the timing of the initiation of prenatal care and the frequency of prenatal care visits, as measured by the Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization (APNCU) Index. The APNCU identifies women who have received at least basic adequate prenatal care as women who begin receiving prenatal care by their fourth month of pregnancy and attend at least 80% of recommended prenatal care visits.
Percent of Birthing People Who Received Adequate Prenatal Care
By County, 2020
| Overall | Latina | Asian/Pacific Islander | Black | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire | 80.0 | 67.8 | 0 | 75.0 | 81.8 | 0 |
| Franklin | 81.1 | 74.2 | 0 | 58.3 | 83.2 | 0 |
| Hampden | 73.6 | 71.7 | 75.6 | 68.3 | 76.8 | 0 |
| Hampshire | 75.9 | 66.0 | 65.4 | 78.1 | 78.6 | 0 |
| Statewide | 76.6 | 72.2 | 76.8 | 67.7 | 80.2 | 66.0 |
Dashed circle indicates that the value was suppressed due to low counts. An estimate with a numerator count less than 10 should be interpreted with caution and is indicated by an asterisk (*). Source: MA DPH Birth Data Set, 2020
Adequate Prenatal Care by County
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, 2020
