The aim of this study was to explore whether conditions of mothers; neighbourhood of residence contributed to adverse birth outcomes, independent of individual-level determinants. Results suggested that measures of neighbourhood economic conditions were associated with both fetal growth and the length of gestation, independent of individual-level factors.
This study described the proportion of low-birth weight births that might be prevented by programs targeting maternal body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy and/or weight gain during pregnancy. The researchers found that 19% of the very low-birth weight births in South Carolina related to either underweight or overweight BMI at conception. In addition, 8% of the very low-birth weight births were attributed to inadequate weight gain during pregnancy. The authors concluded that appropriate maternal BMI at conception, in conjunction with adequate weight gain during pregnancy, might substantially reduce the number of low-birth weight deliveries.
This study tested a model describing the relationships between various biopsychosocial, behavioral, and cognitive factors on nutritional adequacy and infant birth weight in low-income pregnant women. The findings showed that maternal age, body mass index prior to pregnancy, nutritional knowledge, and infant gestation at birth explained 52% of the variance in infant birth weight. Providing nutritional education throughout pregnancy might lead to improved dietary patterns, which, in turn, might reduce the incidence of low birth weight.
The goals of this study were (1) to examine the influence of prenatal nutrition on birth outcomes, (2) to describe research on the effects of macro- and micronutrients on birth outcomes, and (3) to discuss strategies for monitoring diet and implementing nutrition education during pregnancy.
The researchers examines the effects of prenatal participation in the New York State WIC Program on birth weight through enhanced control of selection bias and gestational age bias. Adjusted estimates showed a significant positive effect of longer prenatal WIC participation on birth outcomes for all of the groups studied.
The objective of this study was to examine whether socioeconomic status (SES) gradients emerged in health outcomes as early as birth. Results showed that participation in WIC substantially flattened income gradients for short-term participants and virtually eliminated an income gradient among long-term participants. The researcher concluded that WIC’s effects on income gradients warrant additional study, to explore further whether interventions or participants; characteristics could resolve socioeconomic disparities in such early-life health;outcomes as low birth weight.
The goal of this study was to determine whether perceived levels of social support affected birth weight. Data suggested that infants born to African-American mothers were, on average, 297 grams lighter than those born to white mothers. For African-American mothers only, the mean birth weight decreased significantly as the neighborhood level of economic disadvantage increased. A positive association between perceived levels of social support and birth weight was found for white mothers only.
The researchers; goal was to determine whether the availability of community health and social services was associated with the risk of poor fetal growth for infants born small for gestational age (SGA). There was no association between SGA births and the accessibility of community services for either high- or low-risk women.
This study examines the impact of maternal participation in WIC on birth weight. The authors concluded that after controlling for potential biases, a significant positive association between WIC participation and birth weight was observed.
The author tested predictors of infant birth weight, including prepregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, and smoking. Results showed that higher birth weight was predicted by prepregnancy obesity. Lower infant birth weight was predicted by both lower and higher-than-recommended weight gain and by lower and higher levels of smoking.
