Foreign-born~women have heavier infants than US-born women, but it is unclear whether this advantage persists across generations for all races and ethnicities.
Using 1971-2015 Florida birth records, we linked records of female infants within families to assess intergenerational changes in~birthweight~and prevalence of~low~birthweight~by grandmother{\textquoteright}s~race,~ethnicity~and~foreign-born~status. We also assessed educational gradients in~low~birthweight~in two generations.
Compared to daughters of US-born black women, daughters of~foreign-born~black women had substantially higher birthweights (3,199 v. 3,083 grams) and lower prevalence of~low~birthweight~(7.8\% v. 11.8\%). Daughters of~foreign-born~Hispanic women had moderately higher birthweights (3,322 v. 3,268 grams) and lower prevalence of~low~birthweight~(4.5\% v. 6.2\%) than daughters of US-born Hispanic women. In the next generation, a Hispanic foreign-origin advantage persisted in~low~birthweight~prevalence (6.1\% v. 7.2\%), but the corresponding black foreign-origin advantage was almost eliminated (12.2\% v. 13.1\%). Findings were robust to adjustment for sociodemographic and medical risk factors. In contrast to patterns for other women, the prevalence of~low~birthweight~varied little by maternal education for~foreign-born~black women. However, a gradient emerged among their US-born daughters.
The convergence of~birthweight~between descendants of~foreign-born~and US-born black women is consistent with theories positing that lifetime exposure to discrimination and socioeconomic inequality is associated with adverse health outcomes for black women. The emergence of a distinct educational gradient in~low~birthweight~prevalence between generations underscores hypothesized adverse effects of multiple dimensions of disadvantage.
}, year = {2020}, journal = {Epidemiology}, volume = {31}, pages = {649-658}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0000000000001217}, language = {eng}, }