 High-risk young mothers: Infant mortality and morbidity in four areas in the United States, 1973-1978M.C. McCormick, S. Shapiro and B. Starfield American Journal of Public Health, 1984, vol. 74, issue 1, 18-23 Abstract: An examination of the changes in infant mortality and morbidity in four regions in the United States has revealed high levels of health problems among the infants of two groups of mothers: those → 17 years and 18-19 year-old multiparas, many of whom began their childbearing under age 18. Despite decreases over the period of observation, neonatal mortality rates remain over one and a half times as high for infants of these mothers as for other mothers, largely due to the relatively high proportion of low birthweight (LBW) infants born to these mothers. Post-neonatal mortality rates also remain high, and may be increasing; this change cannot be explained solely by differences in proportion of LBW infants between these and older mothers. Both the high post-neonatal mortality rates and the type of morbidity experienced by surviving infants is consistent with the socioeconomic disadvantage of young mothers. The data further indicate the limited resources available to these mothers to cope with their children's health needs, and their potential vulnerability to decreases in public programs supporting child health care. Date: 1984 There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1984:74:1:18-23_4 Access Statistics for this article American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association |
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