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- In the Healthy Start zip codes in the years 2005 – 2007, the rate of low birth weight for African Americans was 75% higher than the rate for white babies; the rate for Hispanics was 40% higher than the rate of whites. These rates have changed very little in the past 10 years.
- Not having a high school diploma is also highly correlated with low birth weight. Mothers without a high school diploma in the Healthy Start zip codes have a 30% higher rate of low birth weight than high school graduates; in suburban Monroe County, mothers without a high school diploma have 42% higher rate of lbw than high school graduates. Latinas living in the Healthy Start zip codes have the highest rate of less than high school education, followed by African Americans living in the city.
- Being born at less than 2500g is a risk factor for adult-onset chronic heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes. Looking at women of child bearing age, the percent of African American women reporting they had been told they had diabetes and the percentage reporting they had been told they had high blood pressure were both three times the rate of white women. The prevalence of these diseases increases with age, so bearing children early may be a protective factor against even greater disparity in adult health conditions; African Americans and Latinas are more likely than white women to have children before age 25.
- Overweight and excessive weight gain during pregnancy and diabetes are each independently associated with preterm delivery and low birth weight; in addition, excessive gain during pregnancy is linked to subsequent overweight in the baby at age three. From 2005 to 2007, approximately 50% of birth mothers living in the Healthy Start area were overweight or obese, compared to approximately 40% in suburban Monroe County.
- Stress during pregnancy is strongly associated with preterm delivery and with impaired HPA axis functioning in the offspring. Among Latinas and women with less than a high school education, at least 30% reported Frequent Mental Distress. African American women reported FMD at less than half the rate of Latinas, but double the rate of white women. City and Healthy Start zip code residents were significantly more likely to report FMD than suburban Monroe County residents.
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