Women's Health Issues
Volume 19, Issue 6 , Pages 390-397 , November 2009

The Effects of Stress on Birth Weight in Low-Income, Unmarried Black Women

  • Margaret L. Holland, PhD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
    • ,
  • Harriet Kitzman, RN, PhD

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing, Rochester, New York
    • ,
  • Peter Veazie, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Peter Veazie, PhD, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 644, Rochester, New York 14642; Phone: 585-273-5464; Fax: 585-461-4532.

Received 22 August 2008 ,Revised 17 July 2009 ,Accepted 20 July 2009.

References 

  1. Aneshensel CS, Sucoff CA. The neighborhood context of adolescent mental health. Journal of Health & Social Behavior. 1996;37:293–310
  2. Ashdown-Lambert JR. A review of low birth weight: Predictors, precursors and morbidity outcomes. Journal of the Royal Society of Health. 2005;125:76–83
  3. Barbosa GA. The association of life events to gestational age at delivery among low-income, urban, African American women. Journal of Perinatology. 2000;20:438–442
  4. Borders AEB, Grobman WA, Amsden LB, Holl JL. Chronic stress and low birth weight neonates in a low-income population of women. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2007;109:331–338
  5. Breslau N, Chilcoat H, DelDotto J, Andreski P, Brown G. Low birth weight and neurocognitive status at six years of age. Biological Psychiatry. 1996;40:389–397
  6. Buka SL, Brennan RT, Rich-Edwards JW, Raudenbush SW, Earls F. Neighborhood support and the birth weight of urban infants. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2003;157:1–8
  7. Collins JW, David RJ, Handler A, Wall S, Andes S. Very low birthweight in African American infants: The role of maternal exposure to interpersonal racial discrimination. American Journal of Public Health. 2004;94:2132–2138
  8. Collins JW, David RJ, Symons R, Handler A, Wall S, Andes S. African-American mothers' perception of their residential environment, stressful life events, and very low birthweight. Epidemiology. 1998;9:286–289
  9. Dole N, Savitz DA, Hertz-Picciotto I, Siega-Riz AM, McMahon MJ, Buekens P. Maternal stress and preterm birth. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2003;157:14–24
  10. Gershoff ET, Aber JL, Raver CC, Lennon MC. Income is not enough: Incorporating material hardship into models of income associations with parenting and child development. Child Development. 2007;78:70–95
  11. Gilbert WM, Nesbitt TS, Danielsen B. The cost of prematurity: Quantification by gestational age and birth weight. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2003;102:488–492
  12. Jaffee KD, Perloff JD. An ecological analysis of racial differences in low birthweight: Implications for maternal and child health social work. Health & Social Work. 2003;28:9–22
  13. Kajantie E, Osmond C, Barker DJ, Forsén T, Phillips DI, Eriksson JG. Size at birth as a predictor of mortality in adulthood: A follow-up of 350 000 person-years. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2005;34:655–663
  14. King G, Williams DR. Race and health: A multidimensional approach to African-American health. In:  Amick BC,  Levine S,  Tarlov AR,  Walsh DC editor. Society and health. New York: Oxford University Press; 1995;p. 93–130
  15. Kirkegaard I, Obel C, Hedegaard M, Henriksen TB. Gestational age and birth weight in relation to school performance of 10-year-old children: A follow-up study of children born after 32 completed weeks. Pediatrics. 2006;118:1600–1606
  16. Kitzman H, Olds DL, Henderson CR, Hanks C, Cole R, Tatelbaum R, et al. Effect of prenatal and infancy home visitation by nurses on pregnancy outcomes, childhood injuries, and repeated childbearing: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1997;278:644–652
  17. Kramer MS. Determinants of low birth weight: Methodological assessment and meta-analysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1987;65:663–737
  18. Lu MC, Halfon N. Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes: A life-course perspective. Maternal & Child Health Journal. 2003;7:13–30
  19. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ, Menacker F, Kirmeyer S, et al. Births: Final data for 2005. National Vital Statistics Reports: from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System. 2007;56:1–104
  20. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ, Menacker F, Munson ML. Births: Final data for 2003. National Vital Statistics Reports: from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System. 2005;54:1–116
  21. Messer LC, Kaufman JS, Dole N, Savitz DA, Laraia BA. Neighborhood crime, deprivation, and preterm birth. Annals of Epidemiology. 2006;16:455–462
  22. Messer LC, Laraia BA, Kaufman JS, Eyster J, Holzman C, Culhane J, et al. The development of a standardized neighborhood deprivation index. Journal of Urban Health. 2006;83:1041–1062
  23. Reagan PB, Salsberry PJ. Race and ethnic differences in determinants of preterm birth in the USA: Broadening the social context. Social Science & Medicine. 2005;60:2217–2228
  24. Rich-Edwards JW, Grizzard TA. Psychosocial stress and neuroendocrine mechanisms in preterm delivery. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2005;192(5 Suppl.):S30–S35
  25. Rini CK, Dunkel-Schetter C, Wadhwa PD, Sandman CA. Psychological adaptation and birth outcomes: The role of personal resources, stress, and sociocultural context in pregnancy. Health Psychology. 1999;18:333–345
  26. Rosenberg TJ, Garbers S, Lipkind H, Chiasson MA. Maternal obesity and diabetes as risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes: Differences among 4 racial/ethnic groups. American Journal of Public Health. 2005;95:1545–1551
  27. Sampson RJ, Groves WB. Community structure and crime: Testing social-disorganization theory. American Journal of Sociology. 1989;94:774–802
  28. Sampson RJ, Morenoff JD, Gannon-Rowley T. Assessing “neighborhood effects”: Social processes and new directions in research. Annual Review of Sociology. 2002;28:443–478
  29. Sampson RJ, Raudenbush SW. Systematic social observation of public spaces: A new look at disorder in urban neighborhoods. American Journal of Sociology. 1999;105:603–651
  30. Sampson RJ, Raudenbush SW, Earls F. Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science. 1997;277:918–924
  31. Stevens-Simon C, Orleans M. Low-birthweight prevention programs: The enigma of failure. Birth. 1999;26:184–191
  32. Valero De Bernabé J, Soriano T, Albaladejo R, Juarranz M, Calle ME, Martínez D, et al. Risk factors for low birth weight: A review. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. 2004;116:3–15
  33. Ware JE, Veit CT, Donald CA. Refinements in the measurement of mental health for adults in the Health Insurance Study. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corp; 1985;
  34. Weinstock M. The potential influence of maternal stress hormones on development and mental health of the offspring. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2005;19:296–308
  35. Zenk SN, Schulz AJ, Israel BA, James SA, Bao S, Wilson ML. Fruit and vegetable access differs by community racial composition and socioeconomic position in Detroit, Michigan. Ethnicity & Disease. 2006;16:275–280

 M.L. Holland acknowledges support from an NRSA Institutional Research Training Grant (T32 HS000044-16) and a Health Services Research Dissertation Award (R36 HS017737), both from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

PII: S1049-3867(09)00074-7

doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2009.07.005

Women's Health Issues
Volume 19, Issue 6 , Pages 390-397 , November 2009

Article Tools