With no boundaries to impede them, Oklahoma's Indians have evolved biculturally, with most of them maintaining their traditions while simultaneously adapting to the socioeconomic demands of the general population. Still, the 37 tribes served by the Oklahoma City Area of IHS have had their share of problems. The Oklahoma City Area of the IHS delivers over 3,800 babies a year, making it one of the largest delivery systems in the state. Over 70 percent of the obstetrical population lives below the state poverty level. Teenage pregnancy, reaching levels of 33 to 35 percent, is a major complication.
Indian infants have an average birth weight of nearly seven pounds.
This factor combines with the typically short stature and pelvic architecture of the Indian female, to produce long labors and frequent hemorrhage. Within the Oklahoma City Area, utilization of IHS services is on the rise. With the decline of Oklahoma's oil and agricultural economies. Some of our outpatient clinics have experienced increases of 150 percent in visits to physicians. While hospital admissions to private sector facilities in Oklahoma have declined markedly in recent years, admissions to IHS facilities are steadily increasing.