Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Does Maternal Birth Outcome Differentially Influence the Occurrence of Infant Death Among African Americans and European Americans?

  • Published:
Maternal and Child Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The United States continues to have one of the highest infant mortality rates (IMR). Although studies have examined the association between maternal and infant birth outcomes, few studies have examined the impact of maternal birth outcome on infant mortality. This study was designed to examine the influence of maternal low birth weight and preterm birth on infant mortality. The 1997–2007 Virginia birth and infant death registry was analyzed. The infant birth and death data was linked to maternal birth registry data using the mother’s maiden name and date of birth. From the mother’s birth registry data, the grandmother’s demographic and pregnancy history was obtained. Logistic regression modeling was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals. There was a statistically significant association between maternal birth outcome and subsequent infant mortality. Infants born from a mother who was low birth weight were 2.3 times more likely to have an infant die within the first year of life. Similarly, infants born from a mother born preterm were 2.2 times more likely to have an infant die. Stratification by race showed that there was no statistical association between maternal birth weight and infant death among Whites. However, a strong association was observed among Blacks. Maternal birth outcomes may be an important indicator for infant mortality. Future longitudinal studies are needed to understand the underlying cause of these associations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kung, H. C., et al. (2007). E-stat deaths: Preliminary data for 2005 health E-stats. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/prelimdeaths05/prelimdeaths05.htm. Accessed 21 Jan 2010.

  2. Mathews, T. J., & MacDorman, M. F. (2008). Infant mortality statistics from the 2005 period linked birth/infant death data set. National Vital Statistics Reports, 57(2). Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_02.pdf. Accessed 21 Jan 2010.

  3. Behrman, R. E., & Stith-Butler, A. (Eds.), (2006). Preterm birth: Causes, consequences, and prevention. Institute of Medicine Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

  4. Collins, J. W., Jr., & David, R. J. (1990). The differential effect of traditional risk factors on infant birthweight among blacks and whites in Chicago. American Journal of Public Health, 80, 679–681.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. McGrady, G. A., Sung, J. F., Rowley, D. L., et al. (1992). Preterm delivery and low birth weight among first born infants of Black and White college graduates. American Journal of Epidemiology, 136, 266–276.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Kotelchuck, M. (1994). The Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization Index: Its US distribution and association with low birthweight. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 1486–1489.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Goldenberg, R. L., et al. (1996). Medical, psychosocial and behavioral risk factors do not explain the increased risk for low-birth weight among black women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 174, 1317–1359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Pallotto, E. K., et al. (2000). Enigma of maternal race and infant birth weight: A population-based study of US-born Black and Caribbean-born Black women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 151, 1080–1085.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Lu, M. C., & Halfon, N. (2003). Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes: A life-course perspective. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 7, 13–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Kermack, W. D., et al. (2001). Death rates in Great Britain and Sweden. Some general regularities and their significance. International Journal of Epidemiology, 30, 678–683.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hackman, E., et al. (1983). Maternal birth weight and subsequent pregnancy outcome. Journal of the American Medical Association, 250, 2016–2019.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Emanuel, I. (1986). Maternal heath during childhood and later reproductive performance. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 477, 27–39.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Emanuel, I., et al. (1992). Intergenerational studies of human birth weight from the 1958 birth cohort. 1. Evidence for a multigenerational effect. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 99, 67–74.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Klebanoff, M. A., et al. (1984). Low birth weight across generations. Journal of the American Medical Association, 252, 2423–2427.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Sanderson, M., et al. (1995). The intergenerational relationship between mothers birthweight, infant birthweight and infant mortality in black and white mothers. Paediatric Perinatal Epidemiology, 9, 391–405.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Coutinho, R., David, R. J., & Collins, J. W., Jr. (1997). Relation of Prenatal Birth Weights to Infant Birth Weight among African Americans and Whites in Illinois. American Journal of Epidemiology, 148, 804–809.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Collins, J. W., Jr., et al. (2003). Low Birth weight Across Generations. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 7, 229–237.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Collins, J. W., et al. (2002). Differing Intergenerational Birth Weights among the Descendents of US-born and Foreign-born Whites and African Americans in Illinois. American Journal of Epidemiology, 155, 210–216.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Barker, D. J., et al. (1989). Weight in infancy and death from ischemic heart disease. Lancet, ii, 577–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Barker, D. J., et al. (1990). Fetal and placental size and risk of hypertension in adult life. BMJ, 301, 259–262.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Law, C., & Shiell, A. (1996). Is blood pressure inversely related to birth weight? The strength of evidence from systematic review of the literature. Journal of Hypertension, 94, 3246–3250.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Michels, K., et al. (1996). Birth-weight as a risk factor for breast cancer. Lancet, 348, 1542–1546.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Rich-Edwards, J. W., et al. (1999). Birth weight and the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Adult Women. Annals of Internal Medicine, 130, 278–284.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Vale, W., et al. (1981). Characterization of a 41-residue ovine hypothalamic peptide that stimulates secretion of corticotrophin and beta-endorphin. Science, 213, 1394–1397.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Paarlberg, K. M., et al. (1995). Psychosocial factors and pregnancy outcome: A review with emphasis on methodological issues. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 39, 563–595.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Wadhwa, P. D., et al. (2001). Stress and preterm birth: Neuroendocrine, immune/inflammatory, and vascular mechanisms. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5, 119–125.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1986). Cognitive theories of stress and the issues of circularity. In M. H. Appley & R. Trumbull (Eds.), Dynamics of stress: Physiological, psychological and social perspectives (pp. 63–80). New York, NY: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Dunkel-Schetter, C., Gurung, R., Lobel, M., & Wadhwa, P. D. (2000). Stress processes in pregnancy and birth: Psychological, biological and sociological influences. In A. Baum, T. Revenson, & T. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of health psychology (pp. 495–518). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Goodman, A. H. (2000). Why genes don’t count (for racial differences in health). American Journal of Public Health, 90, 1699–1702.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Darity, W. A., Jr. (2003). Employment discrimination, segregation, and health. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 226–231.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Paradies, Y. (2006). A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 35, 888–901.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Krieger, N. (2003). Does racism harm health? Did child abuse exist before 1962? On explicit questions, critical science, and current controversies: An ecosocial perspective. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 194–199.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Nazroo, J. Y. (2003). The structuring of ethnic inequalities in health: Economic position, racial discrimination, and racism. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 277–284.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Ford, M. E., & Kelly, P. A. (2005). Conceptualizing and categorizing race and ethnicity in health services research. Health Services Research, 40, 1658–1675.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Ahmed, A. T., et al. (2007). Racial discrimination & health: Pathways & evidence. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 126, 318–327.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Geronimus, A. (1996). African American/White differences in the relationship of maternal age to birthweight: A population-based test of the weathering hypothesis. Social Science and Medicine, 42, 589–597.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Jones, C. P. (2000). Levels of racism: A theoretic framework and a gardener’s tale. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 1212–1215.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Klebanoff, M. A., & Yip, R. (1987). Influence of Maternal Birth Weight on Rate of Fetal Growth and Duration of Gestation. Journal of Pediatrics, 111, 287–292.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Ramakrishman, U., et al. (1999). Role of intergenerational effects on linear Growth. Journal of Nutrition, 129, 544S–549S.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Owusu-Ansah, A. K., & David, R. J. (2008). Mortality Risk of Small Infants Varies with their Mother’s Birth Weight and Race. Paediatric and Perinaltal Epidemiology, 22, 145–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Ounstead, M., & Ounstead, C. (1968). Rate of intrauterine growth. Nature, 220, 599–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Toth, P., et al. (1983). Maternal regulation of fetal growth. Acta Paediatrica Hungarica, 24, 37–48.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Susser, M., & Susser, E. (1996). Choosing a future for epidemiology: II. From black box to Chinese boxes and eco-epidemiology. American Journal of Public Health, 86, 674–677.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Alexander, G. R., et al. (1985). Racial Differences in the Relation of Birth Weight and Gestational Age to Neonatal Mortality. Public Health Reports, 100, 539–547.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Emanuel, I. (1993). Intergenerational factors in pregnancy outcomes. Implications for teratology? Issues and Reviews in Teratology, 6, 47–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Copper, R. L., Goldenberg, R. L., Das, A., et al. (1996). The preterm prediction study: Maternal stress is associated with spontaneous preterm birth at less than thirty-five weeks’ gestation. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 175, 1286–1292.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Welberg, L. A. M., & Seckl, J. R. (2001). Prenatal stress, glucocorticoids and the programming of the brain. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 13, 113–128.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Gurung, R. A. R., et al. (2005). Psychosocial predictors of prenatal anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24, 497–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Feldman, P. J., et al. (2000). Maternal social support predicts birth weight and fetal growth in human pregnancy. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62, 715–725.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants P60 MD002256. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We would like to recognize Mr. Calvin Reynolds, Director of Health Statistics, Virginia Department of Health for assistance in linking this intergenerational data for this analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Community Health and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 East Clay Street, P. O. Box 980212, Richmond, VA, 23298-0212, USA

    Saba W. Masho

  2. VCU Institute of Women’s Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Saba W. Masho

  3. VCU National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Saba W. Masho

  4. Department of Natural Sciences and Minority Health Research Institute and Initiative, Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Phillip W. Archer

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Phillip W. Archer

Authors
  1. Saba W. Masho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Phillip W. Archer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Saba W. Masho.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Masho, S.W., Archer, P.W. Does Maternal Birth Outcome Differentially Influence the Occurrence of Infant Death Among African Americans and European Americans?. Matern Child Health J 15, 1249–1256 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0704-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0704-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation