Search

Estimates the number of infants exposed to legal and illegal substances before birth, drawing on 27 published reports and National Institute on Drug Abuse data. The following are estimated exposure levels: (1) cocaine, 2-3 percent; (2) marijuana, 3-12 percent; (3) cigarettes, 38 percent; and (4) alcohol, 73 percent. (SLD)

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to expand the search for risk factors for low birthweight and to find new explanations for the ethnic-group disparities in birth outcomes. Methods. The subjects were 1150 pregnant women from six ethnic groups (African American, Chinese, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Mexican, and White) who received prenatal care at clinics in New York and Chicago between December 1987 and December 1989. Two interviews were conducted during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Results. The study, after controlling for poverty and other birthweight correlates, showed that living in public housing and believing that chance plays a major role in determining one's health status were negatively associated with birthweight. Having a stable residence was positively related to birthweight. Material hardship, social adversity, perceived racial discrimination, physical abuse, anxiety, and depression were not associated with birthweight. Conclusions. The negative role of an impoverished living environment and feelings of helplessness, as well as the positive role of having a stable form of social support, suggest new directions for research on the causes of low birthweight and the ethnic disparities in US birth outcomes. (Am J Public Health. 1997;87: 787-793)

The relationship between the employment of the mother and the initiation and duration of breast feeding was studied among 668 black and 510 white women. Ninety-one percent of the white women and 80 percent of the black women continued to work during pregnancy. Black women who planned to return to work part time were twice as likely to breast feed than formula feed. In addition, Black women who returned to work breast fed for a shorter period than those who did not return to work. Women returning to professional occupations breast fed for longer periods than women returning to sales or technical positions. White women in professional occupations nursed for longer periods than white women in clerical occupations. Until U.S. employers develop maternity policies that do not discourage breast feeding, it will remain hard for most employed women to achieve the six months of recommended breast feeding.

Abstract: Ethnic differences in preterm (<37 weeks) and very preterm (<33 weeks) delivery were evaluated in a prospective cohort of 28,330 women. Blacks had the highest rate of preterm and very preterm delivery, followed by Mexican-Americans, Asians, and Whites. Adjustment for maternal age, education, marital status, employment, parity, number of previous spontaneous or induced abortions, smoking and drinking during pregnancy, infant sex, and gestational age at initiation of prenatal care resulted in the following odds ratios for preterm delivery: 1.79 (1.55-2.08) for Blacks, 1.40 (1.19-1.63) for Mexican-Americans, 1.40 (1.16-1.69) for Asians, and 1.00 for Whites. The corresponding odds ratios for very preterm delivery were 2.35 (1.72-3.22) for Blacks, 1.31 (0.88-1.94) for Mexican-Americans, 1.10 (0.67-1.83) for Asians, and 1.00 for Whites. Exclusion of cases of premature rupture of membranes, placenta previa, and abruptio placenta did not explain the large ethnic differences. Although Whites and Mexican-Americans had similar birthweight distributions, Mexican-Americans had an increased risk for preterm delivery. Fifty-five per ¢ of low birthweight babies in Kaiser were preterm and this fraction did not vary substantially by ethnic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a population of about 300,000 Northern California women aged 15-44, the age-adjusted incidence of ectopic pregnancy rose from 55.5 to 84.2/100,000 women. 1972-1978. The ratio of ectopics to 1,000 deliveries-plus spontaneous abortions rose from 9.4 to 14.8. The change occurred mainly in women under age 30, and was observed in seven of the eight hospitals in the area. There was no alteration in the frequency of hospitalized pelvic inflammatory disease (PID): salpingitis decreased over the years studied; and tubal sterilization events remained constant at around 0.9 per cent per year of women aged 15-44. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]