Association between maternal self-rated health and infant birth outcomes

Background: Self-rated health (SRH) has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in adults. Adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight predict subsequent health problems including mortality in the first year of life. Maternal health is intimately linked to the health of the fetus, however, no research has examined whether maternal SRH is associated with poor birth outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether maternal SRH is associated with three adverse birth outcomes: low birth weight, preterm birth, and small for gestational age (SGA). Methods: Data for the study utilized the West Virginia Birth Score data from January 2010-July 2011 (N=14,299 live singleton births). A single SRH item was available for analysis starting in January 2010. After descriptive analyses, three adjusted logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the odds that maternal fair/poor self-rated health would be associated with low birth weight (< 2500 grams), preterm delivery (< 37 weeks), and sex-specific (SGA) age norms. Results: After controlling for covariates, mothers who reported fair/poor SRH were 1.35 (CI 1.14-1.59, p<.01) times more likely to deliver a low birth weight infant, 1.38 (CI 1.17-1.63, p<.01) times more likely to deliver a pre-term birth, and 1.20 (CI 1.05-1.38, p<.01) times more likely to deliver a SGA infant. Conclusions: Results suggest maternal fair/poor SRH is associated with multiple poor birth outcomes. Further evidence of the validity of the single SRH item is provided, and SRH could be evaluated during pregnancy to screen mothers for potential intervention.