Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 21, Issue 5, 2019, Pages 1095-1101

Impact of Immigration and Duration of Residence in US on Length of Gestation Among Black Women in Newark, New Jersey (Article)

Elsayed A.* , Amutah-Onukagha N.N. , Navin L. , Gittens-Williams L. , Janevic T.
  • a Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, 683 Hoes Lane West, 2nd Floor, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States
  • b Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, United States
  • c March of Dimes Foundation, White Plains, NY, United States
  • d Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United States
  • e Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Health Science, Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, United States, Department of Population Health Science and Health Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, United States

Abstract

Little is known about pregnancy outcomes of black immigrant women to the US. We surveyed 447 black women post-partum in two hospitals in Newark, NJ. Length of gestation was obtained from medical records. Covariates and information on immigration were collected by in-person interview. Risks ratios for preterm birth (< 37 weeks) comparing immigrant to US-born women were calculated using log-binomial regression. Associations with gestational age at delivery were estimated using linear regression. Multivariable models adjusted for socioeconomic and social/behavioral variables. Immigrant women relative to US-born women had a 60% lower risk of preterm birth (adjusted risk ratio = 0.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.2, 0.8) and longer gestation (adjusted difference = 1.4 weeks, 95%CI 0.6, 2.1). Gestation was 1.9 weeks longer for recent immigrants compared to US-born women (95%CI 0.2, 3.6), whereas for those who lived in the US for at least 10 years there was no difference. The healthy immigrant effect found among black immigrants may erode with time in the US. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Author Keywords

Length of gestation Duration of residence Black immigrants Preterm birth

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85053289921&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-018-0813-7&partnerID=40&md5=16572c8e123ef3f02ad0b60f8a1d6fa3
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0813-7
ISSN: 15571912
Original Language: English