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Reproductive Health of the Rapidly Growing Hispanic Population: Data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2002

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Abstract

Objectives

One in five US babies are Hispanic, and many Hispanics are recent immigrants. This study’s goal is to compare reproductive health characteristics between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White (NHW) mothers and to determine whether those characteristics differ by Hispanic birth increases.

Methods

State-based Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System 2002 data were used to compare Hispanic and NHW mothers of live-born infants overall and in tertiles of states with the highest and lowest Hispanic birth increases during 1998–2002. We calculated crude and adjusted risk ratios (RR) for each characteristic for Hispanics (N = 5,104) relative to NHWs (N = 22,608) and conducted t-tests to compare the RRs in high and low tertile groups.

Results

Hispanic mothers are younger, of lower socioeconomic status, and less likely to receive early prenatal care. They smoke and drink less, breastfeed their infants more often, and report less preterm labor and hypertension during pregnancy, but may be at greater risk of gestational diabetes. When compared to states with smallest birth increases, Hispanics in states with the largest increases are more likely than NHWs to report healthy behavior, e.g., continued breastfeeding and normal BMI. However, they are more likely to report late prenatal care, hospitalization during pregnancy, and low socioeconomic status. A lower risk of hypertension is reported only by Hispanics in states with small birth increases.

Conclusions

Reproductive health characteristics among Hispanic and NHW women differ, but Hispanic women more closely resemble NHW women in states with small increases in Hispanic births. Percent increase in Hispanic births may be a useful measure for states planning future program needs among Hispanic women and infants.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Lisa Whittle for her review of the manuscript and helpful comments.

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Author notes

  1. Katherine Suellentrop

    Present address: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 1776 Massachusetts Ave, NW Suite 200 , Washington, D.C., 20036, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MS K-22, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, Atlanta, GA, 30341-3724, USA

    Jill A. McDonald & Brian Morrow

  2. Association of Schools of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA

    Katherine Suellentrop

  3. Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MS K-63, 4770 Buford HWY NE, Atlanta, GA, 30341-3724, USA

    Leonard J. Paulozzi

Authors
  1. Jill A. McDonald
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  2. Katherine Suellentrop
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  4. Brian Morrow
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Correspondence to Jill A. McDonald.

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The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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McDonald, J.A., Suellentrop, K., Paulozzi, L.J. et al. Reproductive Health of the Rapidly Growing Hispanic Population: Data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2002. Matern Child Health J 12, 342–356 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0244-x

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