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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Michelle A. Johnson, MSW, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, 120 Haviland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, 5102894714, majohn@berkeley.edu

Studies suggest that of women of Mexican-origin that reside in the U.S., those that are less acculturated tend to demonstrate lower rates of low birth weight infants (<2,500 grams) when compared to their more acculturated counterparts despite a riskier sociodemographic profile and limited prenatal care provisions. This “epidemiological paradox” has been attributed to a traditional Mexican cultural orientation that is somehow protective against adverse birth outcomes. Up until recently, with increasing acculturation to a U.S. lifestyle, the perinatal health of Mexican-origin women was expected to deteriorate. However, tentative evidence suggests that these declines may abate after the second generation. The objectives of this exploratory study are to examine the demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and social service and health care utilization patterns of pregnant women of Mexican-origin by generational status. This study relies on two waves of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) to examine prenatal health among three generations of pregnant women of Mexican-origin (n=301) using descriptive, non-parametric, and regression techniques. The findings confirm the demographic and health behavior patterns that have been observed among Mexico-born and U.S.-born women of Mexican-origin and present new information about trends among U.S.-born women when stratified by generational status. These preliminary findings suggest that smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy represent important sites for intervention, particularly among the third-generation while WIC represents an important resource that may be underutilized by second-generation women. Directions for the continued study of acculturation and perinatal health and the development of culturally appropriate interventions are discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the prenatal health among Mexican American women of different acculturative statuses that participated in the CHIS 2001 and 2003.
• Consider the assumptions underlying the “acculturation hypothesis” of immigrant health and well-being in the U.S. and discuss the sociocultural factors that may shape a population’s health across generation.
• Discuss the implications of acculturative differences in prenatal health for individual and community-based intervention strategies for Mexican Americans.

Keywords: Minority Health, Health Disparities

Related Web page: www.chis.ucla.edu/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation