Preconception Wellness: Differences in Health by Immigrant Status

Abstract

Disparities in health between immigrant and non-immigrant pregnant women in the United States is well documented, but few have documented disparities before pregnancy. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006), we examined the health of reproductive-aged women (8,095), sorted by immigrant and pregnancy pregnant US-born (P-US), pregnant foreign-born (P-FB), non-pregnant US-born (NP-US), and non-pregnant foreignborn (NP-FB). P-US women were 5.2 times more likely to report illicit drug use than P-FB women. NP-US women were 3.7 times more likely to report illicit drugs use, 45% less likely to have a normal BMI, 2.0 times more likely to binge drink, 7.6 times more likely to smoke, 1.6 times more likely to engage in moderate physical activity, and 1.7 times more likely to use birth control than NP-FB women. The lower prevalence of numerous destructive health behaviors among preconceptional immigrant women is an important finding.

Does Preconception Health Differ by Nativity?: Findings from the Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) Study

“…This finding was surprising, as we had hypothesized that immigrant women hold more traditional views regarding birth control and also encounter more challenges accessing prescription contraception from their healthcare providers due to insurance and language barriers. Some previous findings [15,44], including Xaverius and Tenkku’s study, have supported the expected link between nativity and increased contraception use. However, their study was conducted in 1996–2006, when it may not have been as normative for FB women to use contraception.…”

“…Foreign-born (FB) mothers, on average, have better overall health outcomes than US-born (USB) mothers despite facing adverse social and economic conditions in a new country; this phenomenon is referred to as the immigrant paradox or the Healthy Migrant Effect [12,13,14]. A hallmark study on preconception health by Xaverius and Tenkku (2012), which compared health behaviors among USB and FB non-pregnant women of reproductive age, showed that USB women were more likely than FB women to smoke, use illicit drugs, binge drink, be overweight/obese, engage in moderate physical activity and use contraception [15]. Further, examining birth outcomes by US nativity status adds further complexity to this picture.…”

Differences in Sexual Risk Behavior and HIV/AIDS Risk Factors Among Foreign-Born and US-Born Hispanic Women

“…In contrast, most FBHW come from very strict and hierarchal families where drugs and alcohol are seldom available to women. In these relatively protected communities, experimenting with alcohol drugs is severely punished and their consumption still has a very low level of social acceptance among the female immigrant community, regardless of their level of acculturation [49]. …”

Apoyo Social en Mujeres Inmigrantes de Valparaíso, Chile

“…En 2019, las mujeres representaron aproximadamente el 48% de la población mundial de migrantes internacionales de 272 millones. Estudios sobre la vivencia de mujeres migrantes evidencian profundas vulnerabilidades y desigualdades en la sociedad de acogida, lo que les genera tensión, inseguridad y desconfianza (Lacharité, 2005;Xaverius, Salas, & Tenkku, 2012), siendo insuficientes la toma de decisiones Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento ISSN 1852-4206 Abril 2023 revistas.unc.edu.ar/inde x.php/racc…”