This article demonstrates the use of state level vital statistics records for a study investigating the impact of wildfire smoke exposures during pregnancy on infant birth weight. The vital statistics records included population data for the study area which were used to create comparison groups of unexposed births from before and after the wildfire.

Summary:

Holstius et al. (2012) assessed the impact of wildfire-related exposures during pregnancy on infant birth weight. They obtained vital records data from the California Center for Health Statistics for singleton term births and compared infant birth weights from pregnancies that took place entirely before or after the 2003 southern California wildfires. Exposure windows were defined using reports from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and MODIS satellite imagery. Satellite images were also used to determine geographic locations impacted by the fires. Exposure windows and geographic areas were linked to gestational stages and mother’s place of residence, from vital records, to determine pregnancies exposed to the wildfires.

Exposure Data	Health Data
Satellite Data Sources:
CA Department of Forestry & Fire Protection:	California Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health Services
NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery

Supporting Publication:

Birth Weight Following Pregnancy During the 2003 Southern California Wildfires

Holstius DM, Reid CE, Jesdale BM, Morello-Frosch R. Birth weight following pregnancy during the 2003 Southern California wildfires. Environ Health Perspect. 2012 Sep;120(9):1340-5. Doi: 10.1289/ehp.1104515. Epub 2012 May 29. PMID: 22645279; PMCID: PMC3440113. [Abstract]