Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Age: Exploring Intersections in Preterm Birth Disparities among Teen Mothers

Abstract

Few studies have examined disparities in adverse birth outcomes and compared contributing socioeconomic factors specifically between African-American and White teen mothers. This study examined intersections between neighborhood socioeconomic status (as defined by census-tract median household income), maternal age, and racial disparities in preterm birth (PTB) outcomes between African-American and White teen mothers in North Carolina. Using a linked dataset with state birth record data and socioeconomic information from the 2010 US Census, disparities in preterm birth outcomes for 16,472 teen mothers were examined through bivariate and multilevel analyses. African-American teens had significantly greater odds of PTB outcomes than White teens (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.21, 1.56). Racial disparities in PTB rates significantly varied by neighborhood income; PTB rates were 2.1 times higher for African-American teens in higher income neighborhoods compared to White teens in similar neighborhoods. Disparities in PTB did not vary significantly between teens younger than age 17 and teens ages 17-19, although the magnitude of racial disparities was larger between younger African-American and White teens. These results justify further investigations using intersectional frameworks to test the effects of racial status, neighborhood socioeconomic factors, and maternal age on birth outcome disparities among infants born to teen mothers.

Risk Factors for Preterm Birth among Women Who Delivered Preterm Babies at Bugando Medical Centre, Tanzania

“…This association was also reported by Passing in Brazil, where the risk of preterm birth due to ANC visits <4 times was found to increase by 1.52 fold [11]. In Washington, it was found that the risk of preterm birth due to ANC visits <4 times increased by 5.7 times [21]. This difference in risk may be due to the fact that most of the women in our study were from rural areas where there is scarcity of health care services as compared to women in the previous studies [11,21].…”

“…In Washington, it was found that the risk of preterm birth due to ANC visits <4 times increased by 5.7 times [21]. This difference in risk may be due to the fact that most of the women in our study were from rural areas where there is scarcity of health care services as compared to women in the previous studies [11,21]. The study in Brazil was a multicentre cross-sectional study and hence included a larger sample size as compared to our study.…”

Complex samples logistic regression analysis of predictors of the current use of modern contraceptive among married or in-union women in Sierra Leone: Insight from the 2013 demographic and health survey

“…Our study revealed that women from richer households were more likely to use modern contraceptives compared to the poorest households. Household wealth generally is a predictive factor of many health outcomes, including the use of modern contraceptives as found by other studies [24,[32][33][34]. Household wealth may have provided Sierra Leone women with an opportunity for exposure to health information as well as giving them the purchasing power to afford a modern form of contraceptives.…”

Epigenetics: linking social and environmental exposures to preterm birth

“…Over 16% of black infants are born preterm compared to less than 11% of white infants(2). Differences in socioeconomic status(3), genetics(4), and personal health behaviors (such as smoking(5) and teenage pregnancy(6)) fail to completely explain racial disparities in preterm birth. Within racial/ethnic groups, poverty is a risk factor for preterm birth(7).…”