The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights and Adverse Birth Outcomes

Abstract

State-level reproductive rights may influence likelihood of adverse birth outcomes among women residents.

Women's Reproductive Rights Policies and Adverse Birth Outcomes: A State-Level Analysis to Assess the Role of Race and Nativity Status

“…This study aligns with other research that has found that women living in less restrictive versus those living in more restrictive states have better birth outcomes. 2,3 Moreover, this study found that less restrictive policy environments were particularly protective for Black women, with evidence that this may be especially true for U.S.-born Black women.…”

“…In the U.S., restrictive reproductive rights are associated with higher infant mortality rates 2 and increased odds of preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW). 3 Despite the link with adverse health outcomes, reproductive rights policies remain highly debated. In recent years, the number and type of state-level policies that restrict reproductive rights have fluctuated substantially.…”

Structural Heteropatriarchy and Birth Outcomes in the United States

“…Thus, access to family plan ning ser vices can impact repro duc tive health via actual use of these ser vices, but it is also an indi ca tor of sta tus in civil soci ety more broadly. In fact, many states with the most restric tive fam ily plan ning pol i cies also have some of the worst health out comes for women and their infants (Kawachi et al 1999;Wallace et al 2017).…”

“…A hand ful of stud ies have iden ti fed a rela tion ship between increased funding for fam ily plan ning (including access to abor tion) and improve ments in adverse birth out comes (Corman and Grossman 1985;Grossman and Jacobowitz 1981;Joyce 1987aJoyce , 1987bKrieger et al 2016;Meier 1998, 2001;Meier and McFarlane 1994). Other work has shown that women liv ing in states with more repro duc tive rights have lower rates of both pre term and low birth weight births (Wallace et al 2017). None of these stud ies exam ined the impact of such pol i cies on the birth out comes of sex ual minor i ties.…”

Racial/ethnic and educational inequities in restrictive abortion policy variation and adverse birth outcomes in the United States

“…Because pregnancy and childbirth are inherently more dangerous and associated with more pregnancy-related morbidities and mortality than legal induced abortion, individuals unable to access abortion may be at increased risk for adverse birth outcomes [ 36 – 40 ]. Additionally, states with legal environments that restrict abortion access often lack supportive policies promoting the health and safety of pregnant people, their children, and their families – such as Medicaid expansion, expansive family/medical leave, and comprehensive sex education [ 41 , 42 ] – which may result in reduced access to supportive services and thus contribute to adverse birth outcomes [ 33 , 34 , 42 , 43 ]. Lastly, being unable to access desired medical care – in tandem with navigating structural barriers to obstetric care (e.g., lack of insurance coverage, documented shortages of obstetric providers [ 35 ]) and living in the historical and contemporary context of the United States – may increase psychosocial stress for the pregnant person, thus increasing their risk for adverse birth outcomes [ 44 – 47 ].…”