The Social Environment at Birth and Perinatal Health Outcomes

• In Event: 439 - Regular Session. Population Health

Abstract

Scholars have previously identified infant birth weight as one mechanism that can transmit health and social inequalities across generations. However, despite years of research aimed at identifying the root causes of poor birth outcomes, we still have only a preliminary understanding of the full etiology of infant health. This study focuses primarily on one of these sources of risk: the social environment mothers are exposed to at and around the time of birth, given the many gaps in our understanding in this area. This study uses population-level data to examine the influence of various features of mother’s neighborhood environment around the time of birth. Drawing upon literature in public health and sociology, this study tests—for the first time—three different indices (Neighborhood Deprivation Index, Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage, and Neighborhood Affluence) and their association with birth outcomes and maternal prenatal health behaviors. Findings show that all three indices are important to consider, but, importantly, neighborhood affluence appears to be a key construct particularly for understanding social determinants of maternal prenatal health behaviors. This has important implications for advancing our understanding of why and how social environment can get under the skin to influence birth outcomes—a key factor shaping the future life chances and social well-being. Therefore, this study reveals unique sociological insights by providing a unique window into further understanding one specific (and explicit) mechanism underlying intergenerational transmissions of concentrated inequality in the U.S. – an area that has, before now, remained somewhat elusive in the social sciences.

Authors

• Jennifer Buher Kane, University of California, Irvine

• Gandarvaka Gray, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Jennifer Yourkavitch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill