The Latina paradox: an opportunity for restructuring prenatal care delivery.
Latina mothers in the United States enjoy surprisingly favorable birth outcomes despite their social disadvantages. This "Latina paradox" is particularly evident among Mexican-born women. The social and cultural factors that contribute to this paradox are maintained by community networks--informal systems of prenatal care that are composed of family, friends, community members, and lay health workers. This informal system confers protective factors that provide a behavioral context for healthy births. US-born Latinas are losing this protection, although it could be maintained with the support of community-based informal care systems. We recommend steps to harness the benefits of informal systems of prenatal care in Latino communities to meet the increasing needs of pregnant Latina women.
McGlade
Michael S
MS
Geography Department, Western Oregon University.
Saha
Somnath
S
Dahlstrom
Marie E
ME
D000069:Acculturation; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008019:Life Style; D017058:Mexican Americans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000208:ethnology*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States