We investigated the effect of indicators of acculturation among Somali refugee women's birth outcomes. Data were extracted from medical records of 584 Somali women delivering infants at a Midwestern hospital between 1993 and 2006. Bivariate analyses measured relationships between independent factors and the dependent variables of gestational age and birthweight. Structural equation modeling (SEM) determined the fit between factors hypothesized to reflect acculturation and the data. Significant increases noted over time were substance use/exposure, interpreter use, body mass index, hemoglobin levels, gestational diabetes and preterm birth. Bivariate analyses showed significance between prenatal care utilization and both preterm birth and gestational age. SEM results indicated a moderate to good fit between the hypothesized model and available data. Factors hypothesized to reflect acculturation and effect birth outcomes among Somali women are increasing but did not account for increased preterm birth. Further investigation is warranted to identify and truncate further disparate birth outcomes. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Birth outcomes Somali prenatal Preterm birth gestational diabetes Acculturation

refugee prenatal care pregnancy complication Pregnancy Complications human Refugees statistics Premature Birth Substance-Related Disorders Minnesota ethnology United States Young Adult Humans Adolescent Acculturation female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics pregnancy cultural factor Article pregnancy outcome adult Somalia Hemoglobins prematurity hemoglobin addiction Birth Weight body mass Body Mass Index gestational age