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Linking Adverse Experiences to Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes: A Life Course Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Low-Income Women

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Abstract

Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes have persisted in the United States for decades, though the causes remain poorly understood. The life course perspective posits that poorer outcomes of Black birthing people stem from heightened exposure to stressors early in life and cumulative exposure to stressors over time. Despite its prominence, this perspective has seldom been investigated empirically. We analyzed longitudinal data gathered from 1319 women in low-income households in Wisconsin who received perinatal home visiting services. Variable- and person-centered analyses were performed to assess whether 15 adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and 10 adverse adult experiences (AAEs) were associated, alone and in combination, with pregnancy loss, preterm birth, and low birth weight among Hispanic (i.e., Latinx) and non-Hispanic Black and White participants. As expected, there were disparities in preterm birth and low birth weight, and both ACEs and AAEs were linked to poorer pregnancy and birth outcomes. Unexpectedly, bivariate and multivariate analyses showed that the associated effects of ACEs and AAEs were most robust for non-Hispanic White women. A latent class analysis produced four patterns of life course adversity, and multigroup latent class analyses confirmed that, compared to White women, higher-adversity class assignments were associated with less robust effects for Hispanic women, and even less robust effects for Black women. We discuss interpretations of the paradoxical findings, including the possibility that alternative sources of stress such as interpersonal and structural racism may better account for the reproductive disparities that disproportionately affect Black birthing people.

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources Services Administration (X10MC43618; X10MC33618).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Joshua P. Mersky

  2. Institute for Child & Family Well-Being, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Joshua P. Mersky, ChienTi Plummer Lee & Anthony Gómez

  3. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Noelene K. Jeffers

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Rebecca J. Shlafer

  5. Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Dylan B. Jackson

  6. School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Anthony Gómez

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by JM and CPL. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JM and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Joshua P. Mersky.

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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board (FWA00006171) of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (14.286; 3/27/14).

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Mersky, J.P., Jeffers, N.K., Lee, C.P. et al. Linking Adverse Experiences to Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes: A Life Course Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Low-Income Women. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01647-w

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