School
School of Public Health
Document Type
Dissertation
Department (new version)
Public Health
Date of Award
2004
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) School of Public Health
Abstract
Various studies have observed that infants born to foreign-born women have better birth outcomes (lower rates of preterm, low birth weight, and infant mortality) than those delivered to U.S.-born women. Much attention has been given to the “healthy migrant effect” but no studies have examined this theory in an internally migrant population. The study purpose is to examine the association of maternal mobility history and birth outcomes among infants delivered in the U.S. while considering the influences of geographic location and socio-cultural composition, barriers that might make less healthy individuals less likely to migrate. Maternal mobility history (MMH), which refers to the relationship between the maternal place of birth and the state of residence at delivery, was categorized into the four following groups: (a) foreign-born—place of birth outside the U.S. and delivery in the U.S.; (b) outside-region—place of birth in one U.S. region and delivery in another U.S. region; (c) within-region—place of birth in one U.S. region and delivery in a different state in the same U.S. region; and (d) within-state—place of birth and delivery in the same U.S. state. Analyses were conducted using U.S. Census categories (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) and regions categorized by the proportion of Hispanics/Mexicans (High Mexican, Medium Mexican, High/Medium Hispanic, Low Mexican). The study used 1995–1999 NCHS live birth/infant death cohort files of singleton infants delivered in the U.S. to White women of Mexican origin (n = 2,446,253). Infants born to foreign-born mothers had the lowest rates and lower risks of adverse birth outcomes compared to infants of U.S.-born mothers. Unique to this study were the findings regarding infants of internal migrants. Consistently, there is evidence to support the healthy migrant effect. Infants born to mothers with outside-region maternal mobility history (geographic) had a lower risk of low birth weight, SGA, and term-SGA compared to those who did not move. Those infants born to U.S.-born mothers had worse outcomes compared to their foreign-born counterparts and there were some variations by regional mobility history. Overall, this study provides evidence that the healthy migrant effect can be applied to internal migration of a population.
ProQuest Publication Number
ProQuest ID
3130228
ISBN
978-0-496-77481-4
Recommended Citation
Wingate, Martha Slay, "The association of maternal mobility history and birth outcomes among singleton infants born to United States resident mothers of Mexican origin, 1995-1999" (2004). All ETDs from UAB. 7232.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7232
Comments
DrPH