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The Influence of Maternal Mobility on Birth Outcomes of non-Hispanic Blacks

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Abstract

Background We investigated whether the “healthy migrant” effect is applicable to an internally mobile U.S.-born population, that is, whether infants born to women that moved within the United States had better birth outcomes compared to those infants whose mothers did not move. Methods This study used 1995–2001 National Center for Health Statistics live birth/infant death cohort files of singleton infants born in the U.S. to non-Hispanic Black women. Results Infants born to women who moved had significantly lower risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and SGA compared to the non-mobile group. Conclusions There is evidence to support the healthy migrant effect in an internally migrant Black population. The findings of this study suggest infants of non-Hispanic Black mothers who were born in one state and moved prior to delivery had more positive birth outcomes when compared to those infants of women who did not move prior to delivery.

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Acknowledgments

Financial disclosure: Drs. Wingate and Alexander were supported in part by DHHS, HRSA, MCHB grant MC00008-16 S21. The content of this work is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

Human subjects protection: This study was approved by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Institutional Board for Human Use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1530 3rd Avenue South, RPHB 330, Birmingham, AL, 35294-0022, USA

    Martha S. Wingate

  2. Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Shailender Swaminathan

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Greg R. Alexander

Authors
  1. Martha S. Wingate
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  2. Shailender Swaminathan
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  3. Greg R. Alexander
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martha S. Wingate.

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Greg R. Alexander is deceased.

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Wingate, M.S., Swaminathan, S. & Alexander, G.R. The Influence of Maternal Mobility on Birth Outcomes of non-Hispanic Blacks. Matern Child Health J 13, 48–55 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0290-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0290-4

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