Newborn Birth Weights and Related Factors of Native and Immigrant Residents of Spain

Abstract

Birth weight is a high impact factor in populations with high rates of immigration. This study establishes differences in birth weight (BW) and related factors among full-term newborn (NB) infants born to native and immigrant women living in Spain during 2007-2008. All NBs from Spanish mothers and mothers from the five nationalities with the highest birth rates in Spain (Morocco, Romania, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia) according to the Statistical Bulletin of Births in Spain were included. BW was classified as low BW (LBW; <2,500 g), underweight (UW; 2,500-2,999 g), adequate weight (3,000-3,999 g), and macrosomia (≥4,000 g). The characteristics associated with a higher likelihood of LBW were Spanish mother, lower training level (OR = 1.3), more children (OR = 1.8), age ≤19 years (OR = 1.2) or ≥40 years (OR = 1.3), and female NB. The probability of macrosomia was higher in Bolivian mothers (OR = 3.0) with more children (OR = 1.7) and male NBs (OR = 2.0). The NBs of Spanish mothers have a higher likelihood of LBW and the lowest odds for macrosomía compared with immigrants from the other countries.

Factores maternos relacionados con el peso al nacer de recién nacidos a término, Colombia, 2002-2011

“…En el país no se dispone de datos de macrosomía. En un estudio realizado en mujeres inmigrantes de diferentes países residentes en España se encontró que de un total de 8.544 mujeres colombianas, la macrosomía alcanzó 8,6% 8 .…”

Live births of immigrant mothers in Brazil: A population-based study

“…The level of education of immigrants tended to be lower than that of native mothers ( Restrepo-Mesa et al., 2015 ; Racape et al., 2016 ). Bolivian and Paraguayan women had a similar profile, with the lowest educational level, dissimilar to Peruvians and Brazilians with a higher level.…”

“…Although the comparison of immigrant mothers in Brazil with those who live in other parts of the world should be made with reservations, owing to differences in immigration, social and environmental influences in the host country, a previous study observed a higher proportion of Bolivian mothers aged < 20 years (6.1%), compared to Spanish mothers (2.1%) ( Restrepo-Mesa et al., 2015 ). This lower frequency of Bolivian teen mothers living in Spain, compared with our results, suggested their adaptation to the Spanish social and reproductive standards.…”

Racial and Ethnic Patterning of Low Birth Weight, Normal Birth Weight, and Macrosomia

“…One Canadian study found mixed results by geography, however: in one province, higher SES mothers had higher odds for macrosomia while lower SES mothers had higher odds in another province (Dubois et al, 2007). The few existing studies that have examined race, ethnicity, or nativity suggest that foreign-born mothers in the US and Europe tend to have higher birthweights and higher odds of macrosomia than their native-born counterparts, as well as an increased risk for gestational diabetes, which is predictive of higher birth weight (Forna et al, 2003; Juarez and Revuelta-Eugercios, 2014; Restrepo-Mesa et al, 2015). Yet a study in Michigan observed lower odds of giving birth to a macrosomic infant among immigrant mothers; this study did not, however, include important controls in the multivariate models, such as race (El-Sayed and Galea, 2011).…”