Population Health
April 19, 2017
Disparities in low birth weights in Washington state
Certain groups of immigrants tend to be healthier than people born in the U.S., with some of that health advantage potentially carrying over to the infants of foreign-born women.
A study from the UW School of Public Health found that within certain racial and ethnic groups in Washington state, women born outside the U.S. had a lower risk of having a low birth weight baby than their native-born counterparts, even after controlling for common pregnancy complications.
“These disparities seem to exist beyond adjustment for socioeconomic factors, and even beyond adjustment for common pregnancy complications,” said lead author Paige Wartko (pictured), a doctoral student in the School’s Department of Epidemiology.