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1st
appeared 4 May 1999
Study Finds Latina Women Have Greater Risk of
Premature Birth with Short Interpregnancy Interval
The chance of having a premature baby is linked to the length of time between pregnancies
in Latina women, according to a new study.
Research findings by a UCSF team show that Latina women with short interpregnancy
intervals -- 18 months or less between the delivery of one infant and the following
conception -- are at greater risk of premature birth than white women.
Elena Fuentes-Afflick, UCSF assistant professor of pediatrics who treats patients at San
Francisco General Hospital Medical Center, presented the study results yesterday (May 3)
in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
The study is among the first to look specifically at the relationship between
interpregnancy interval and prematurity in Latina women, according to Fuentes-Afflick.
"The strong association between these two factors in this ethnic group was a
surprise, but it does present a clear recommendation. To insure the optimum health of the
baby, Latina women should wait 18 months or longer between the birth of one child and
conception of another baby," she said.
The study was based on 1991 birth information from the database of the US National Center
for Health Statistics. Data for a group of 150,000 Latina women of Mexican-origin was
compared to a corresponding group of white women. Women ranged in age from 11 to 49 years.
The researchers looked at three classifications of a short interpregnancy interval:
extremely short (under six months); very short, (6-11 months); and moderately short (12-17
months). An intermediate interpregnancy interval was defined as 24-29 months.
Study findings showed:
Among Latinas, women with a short interval -- of any
length -- were much more likely to give birth to a very premature (23-33 weeks) or
moderately premature (33-37 weeks) baby than women with an intermediate interval. (A
full-term baby is born at 38-42 weeks.)
Latina women were twice as likely as white women to
have an extremely short interval.
Both Latina and white women in the short interval
classifications were younger, less educated, and had less prenatal care than their
counterparts who had intermediate interpregnancy intervals.
There was no association between short intervals and
premature birth among white women.
Links:
UCSF Plays Major Role at
Pediatrics Meetings
UCSF Study Finds Length of
Time Between Pregnancies Can Affect Health of Baby
Source: Corinna Kaarlela, News
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