Low birthweight among immigrants in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 2017

Melissa L Martinson, and Marta Tienda, and Julien O Teitler
University of Washington, School of Social Work, 4101 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Electronic address: melmart@uw.edu.

Immigrant women are less likely than their native-born counterparts to give birth to a low birthweight infant in the United States, and length of U.S. residence shrinks nativity differences in rates of low birthweight. Yet, we know little about how the U.S. context compares to immigrant low birthweight patterns in other countries. Using nationally representative data, we examine variations in the association between nativity and low birthweight in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States-three economically developed countries with long immigrant traditions, but different admission regimes. This study uses birth cohort data from these three destination countries to compare low birthweight between immigrant and native-born residents and then investigates how immigrant low birthweight varies by country of origin and duration in the host country. We find no significant difference in low birthweight between immigrants and native Australians, but for the United Kingdom, we find patterns of low birthweight by duration consistent with those found in the United States. Specifically, foreign-born status protects against low birthweight, though not uniformly across racial groups, except for new arrivals. The results suggest that low birthweight among immigrants is a product of several country-specific factors, including rates of low birthweight in sending countries, access to health services in host countries, and immigrant admission policies that advantage skilled migrants.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007230 Infant, Low Birth Weight An infant having a birth weight of 2500 gm. (5.5 lb.) or less but INFANT, VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT is available for infants having a birth weight of 1500 grams (3.3 lb.) or less. Low Birth Weight,Low-Birth-Weight Infant,Birth Weight, Low,Birth Weights, Low,Infant, Low-Birth-Weight,Infants, Low-Birth-Weight,Low Birth Weight Infant,Low Birth Weights,Low-Birth-Weight Infants
D007231 Infant, Newborn An infant during the first 28 days after birth. Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D005260 Female Females
D006113 United Kingdom Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London. Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D001315 Australia The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra. Canton and Enderbury Islands,Christmas Island,Christmas Island (Australia)
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D044382 Population Groups Individuals classified according to their sex, racial and ethnic origin, religion, common place of living, financial or social status, or some other cultural or behavioral attribute. Group, Population,Population Group
D054242 Emigrants and Immigrants People who leave their place of residence in one country and settle in a different country. Emigrants,Immigrants,Aliens,Foreigners,Alien,Emigrant,Foreigner,Immigrant,Immigrants and Emigrants

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