Socioeconomic Status On Low Birthweight And Preterm Birth In African Americans

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Socioeconomic Status On Low Birthweight And Preterm Birth In African Americans

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc378005908” Summary PAGEREF _Toc378005908 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc378005909” Critique PAGEREF _Toc378005909 h 2

Summary

There is suspicion of a great co-relationship between the relatively high infant mortality among African Americans reaching twofold of reported cases when compared to White Americans and socioeconomic status (SES). Studies indicate that SES impacts to this phenomenon in an inverse connectivity. Despite improved measures to enhance the SES among Americans, the African Americans continue to record more cases of low birthweight, hence higher infant mortality. Studies were conducted to explain this phenomenon from a perspective that paid attention to the fact that there exist intergenerational effects on both the weight of the newborn and gestational age. Taking this into consideration, a reservation was made on the second generation of African American women giving birth whose SES is nearly that of White American women in terms of perinatal data. From these facts, the study was structured to relay information on whether continued birthweight disparity among these ethnic groups was as a result of SES factors or other ethnicity related factors contributed in any way. Comparisons were made among similar cohorts at Meharry Medical College and Yale.

From the results of the study, it is perhaps clearer that the study was targeting the third generation infants who belong to African American mothers of SES similar to their White counterparts. While the Meharry and Yale studies were not identical in order to capture any reason for the disparity, the study disputed low SES and low education qualification among African Americans to be the cause of persistent low birthweight and perinatal outcomes. Two hypothetical findings authenticate these findings in order to form a tenable explanation to the data which also holds true among Native American and Hispanic mothers with similar SES features. On one hand, stress arising from the prevalent racism could be the cause of these results, while a varied birthweight distribution skewed to the left when compared to that of the White counterparts could also explain this phenomenon.

CritiqueApparently, there must be some extra explanation to the phenomenon where almost similar SES characteristics are even among the study groups, to enumerate the cause of persistent low birthweight. In view of the study’s capacity to illustrate to the readers that there could be other reasons, the authors clearly point at the SES developments among the African Americans. Besides the developments, the study sample is keenly drawn from a generation of infants whose mothers’, or at least fathers’ SES coincides as closely as possible to that of the control group; White American mothers. Age factor is also considered in order to control other intergenerational disparity by choosing a cohort; composed of similar age group of mothers. The settings of the study both at Meharry and Yale within medical data reliability conditions further increase the capacity of the study to reveal accurate, specific and concise results.

Failure of the study to arrive at a specific explanation related to SES factors in the persistence of low birthweight does not leave the authors at a dead end. The open ended path created at the beginning of the study on other possibilities causing this phenomenon finally pays off. By stating earlier in the study that it is unclear and unknown about the extent of the impact of SES on birthweight, the study cleverly opens up finding it easy to sneak in any logical explanation into the findings. However, fault can be attached to this approach since despite giving two logical hypothetical possibilities; the study still leaves loose ends since facts of the hypothesis cannot be demonstrated inside the study. The scope of the study does not allow the authors to belabor on the demonstration part and it is enough to allow an escaping route. Perhaps more studies need to be invested to demonstrate the impact of the allegations raised by the hypothetical generalizations.

Reference

Bracken, M. B., Foster, H., Semenya, K., Thomas, John., Thomas Johniene., & Wu, L. (2000) “Socioeconomic Status on Low Birthweight and Preterm Birth in African Americans,” Journal of the National Medical Association, 92(5):213-221

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