title: Mexican women in California: differentials in maternal morbidity between foreign and US-born populations.
abstract: In the US, the majority of deaths and serious complications of pregnancy occur during childbirth and are largely preventable. We conducted a population-based study to assess disparities in maternal health between Mexican-born and Mexican-American women residing in California and to evaluate the extent to which immigrants have better outcomes. Mothers in these two populations deliver 40% of infants in the state. We compared maternal mortality ratios and maternal morbidities during labour and delivery in the two populations using linked 1996-98 hospital discharge and birth certificate data files. For maternal morbidities, we calculated frequencies and observed and adjusted odds (OR) ratios using pre-existing maternal health, sociodemographic characteristics and quality of health care as covariates. Approximately 19% of Mexican-born women suffered a maternal disorder compared with 21% of Mexican-American women (Observed OR = 0.89, [95% CI 0.88, 0.90]). Despite their lower education and relative poverty, Mexican-born women still experienced a lower odds of any maternal morbidity than Mexican-American women, after adjusting for covariates (OR = 0.92, [95% CI 0.90, 0.93]). These findings suggest a paradox of more favourable outcomes among Mexican immigrants similar to that found with birth outcomes. Nevertheless, the positive aggregate outcome of Mexican-born women did not extend to maternal mortality, nor to certain conditions associated with suboptimal intrapartum obstetric care.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA. sylviag@uclink.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guendelman
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: Nap
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hosang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000592:standards; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards