Hispanic Self-identification and Birth Weight Outcomes among U.S.- and Foreign-born Blacks

Tiffany Green ()

The Review of Black Political Economy, 2014, vol. 41, issue 3, 319-336

Abstract: Black infants are more likely to suffer from poor health at birth compared to non-blacks. However, most existing infant health research focuses solely on non-Hispanic blacks and fails to consider the role of ethnic self-identification on infant health disparities. Using 2002 Vital Statistics Natality Data, this paper investigates whether Hispanic ethnicity is related to birth weight among U.S.- and foreign-born black mothers. The results from regression analyses suggest that Hispanic blacks give birth to heavier infants than non-Hispanic blacks. Maternal behaviors such as prenatal care and smoking fail to explain these birth weight differences. However, the observed within-group birth weight differences among blacks are far more modest compared to the black-white birth weight disparities identified in the extant literature. Thus, while it is important to pay attention to within-group differences among blacks, it is still critical to address the needs of black Hispanics with respect to racial disparities in infant health outcomes. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Keywords: Infant and child health; Ethnicity; Black Hispanics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1007/s12114-014-9186-x

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