title: Birthweight of infants born to Hispanic women employed in agriculture.
abstract: A prospective study examined the effects of maternal occupation on the birthweight of infants of Hispanic women. The study population consisted of 1,040 pregnant women enrolled for prenatal care in two rural health care centers in California between 1982 and 1984. Birthweights of infants were examined after classifying these women into three groups: (1) 255 mothers who did agricultural work, (2) 134 mothers who worked in nonagricultural jobs, and (3) 651 mothers who did not work during pregnancy. Prenatal interviews and medical records revealed medical, social, and occupational histories of the mothers. Stepwise linear regression analyses, using the backward elimination method, were conducted for some exposure models to determine whether work category influenced birthweight after controlling for confounders. The incidence of low birthweight and mean birthweights did not vary significantly with work status.
authors.affiliation: California Department of Health Services, Epidemiological Studies and Surveillance Section, Berkeley.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fenster
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Coye
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D001724:Birth Weight; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014930:Women; D014931:Women, Working