A Causal Effect Of Mother's Marital Status On Child's Birth Weight

About four in every ten children born in America in 2008 were born outside of marriage, and they are disproportionately minority and poor. “Only about 6 percent of college-educated mothers’ births are nonmarital versus 60 percent of those of high school dropouts” (5). Scholars responded to this by studying single-parent families.

Based on the analysis performed on the ncbirths dataset, the maternity length of a mother and the newboern's birth weight does not depend on the mother's or father's age. In other words, these variables are unrelated.

Receiving good prenatal care is extremely important for an expecting mother. The prenatal period has a great impact on the newborn's health. Low birth weight is a problem among a certain population of newborns. It is crucial to understand the conditions in poverty and its

Multiple studies have been conducted on infant mortality and preterm birth in the United States. Many have identified how the rate of infant mortality and preterm birth is twice as high among African Americans women than White American women in the United States.(Orr et. al,2012; Dole et al,2004;Collins,2002) some studies convey socioeconomic as a major factor of preterm birth among African American’s. As Kleinman conveys in Racial differences in low birthweight: Trendsand risk factors when socioeconomic status increases the risk of giving birth to an infant of low birthweight decreases. On the other hand, there are some studies that convey high differences of preterm birth between black and white women of equal socioeconomic status.(Dole et

Describe the impact of extremely low birth weight babies on family and society (short and long term, including economic considerations, ongoing care considerations, and comorbidities associated with prematurity).

The term low birth weight is used in describing infants weighing less than 5 lbs 8 ounces (2500g) whereas the average weight is 8 lbs (Stanford, 2015). An infant with a low birth weight has a significantly higher chance of neonatal and perinatal mortality (Maheswari & Behera, 2014). Babies who do persevere and survive are documented of having inadequate neurosensory, cognitive, behavioral development and limited school performance (Guyatt & Snow, 2004). Shiono and Behrman (1995) state that infants with low birth weight consist of 7% of live births, however, 35% of the cost of health care goes towards caring for low birth weight infants. Studies show that African American infants are twice more than Caucasian infants to have a low birth weight. To bring a life into this world takes more than conception; sacrifices need to be made, nurturing, and providing a safe home for the child, but many minorities struggle to fulfill these needs. Health and health care are imperative when it comes to being an expecting mother; therefore, it is important that to address what influences the birth weight of African American infants in my research paper. I hope to address how factors such as racial discrimination within the American health care system, prenatal care, stress, and the age of the mother contributes to the low birth weight (LBW) disparities between African American infants and Caucasian infants.

Children born to single or unwed parents causes serious problems and discussions not only within society, but also the welfare system. Becoming a parent seems to be one of the most beautiful things life has to offer to people. The laughter of children warms the heart like nothing else can, and the way their eyes light up when they receive something as small as a piece of candy reminds us all that the little things in life are the most important. However, children require time and money which often gets overlooked by many people. Raising a child with two married parents seems difficult enough, but today many people are having children out-of -wedlock which also seems to create more single parent homes and puts more pressure on that one parent who struggles to support the child. From 1960 to 2000, out-of-wedlock births grew by 600%

The most reliable estimates by a recent study suggest that “giving birth as a teen is associated with a decline in the probability of graduating from high school (-0.08) and a reduction in income and total wages of $2,200 to $2,400.” It is important to note that often, this decreased economic capacity is paired with far more demands on the mother’s income, making the economic effects even more devastating. Teenage childbearing does not only create problems for the mother; using the same method as the previous paper (comparing teen couples who underwent a miscarriage against those who had a live birth), Fletcher and Wolfe determined that teenage fatherhood reduces the likelihood of obtaining a high school diploma by 15%, which is has lifetime economic effects (Fletcher and Wolfe "The Effects of Teenage Fatherhood on Young Adult Outcomes" 11).

Rahman, A., Bunn, J., Lovel, H. and Creed, F. (2007), Association between antenatal depression and low birthweight in a developing country. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 115: 481–486. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2006.00950.x

The first part of the analysis will examine a complex connection between physical developments of children and living circumstance, individual’s behavior, income levels, education levels of parents and access to healthcare. AS (2012) illustrates that children living in the most deprived areas take higher risks of low birth weight, respiratory problems, poor dental health and overweight than their wealthy peers.

As time progresses, family structures are rapidly shifting. In 2007, unmarried parents produced 40% of US children. This was over twice the 18 percent in 1980 and about eight times greater than the 5% in 1960 (Waldfogel, Craigie, Brooks-Gunn, 2).  In a study of 5000 children in many large cities, 3,700 of them were born to unmarried mothers. According to Waldfogel, Craigie, and Brooks-Gunn, such familiar conditions are dangerous because of the way that single mothers and unmarried parents tend to have less stable lives and relationships

New Mexico has made significant progress in reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy but the rate remains high among other states in the country. The National Bureau of Economic Research report suggests that the reason for high level of pregnancy rate among American teenagers is an economic context of income inequality. Teenage pregnancy has many social, health and economic consequences that inhibit women from realizing their full potentials. This challenge imposes economic burden on the state in the form of assistance program for single mothers and lost income due to low level skills. For example, in 2010 teenage mothers’ public and health care assistance programs cost the United States government nearly $10 billion including lost income from lower educational attainment and reduce wage among children born to teenage mothers. Studies show that teenage mothers tend to have less education and are poorer than their peers who are not teenage parents. This implies that teenage pregnancy has intergenerational effects that can be seen in the overall development index in the larger

Harknett and McLanahan (2004) assess the racial disparities in marriage and family formation among diverse ethnic groups to explain the differences in child rearing practices. Their study utilizes data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study composed of 3,700 children whose parents were unmarried at the time of their births as well as the 2000 U.S. Census. Initial interviews were conducted with the mothers after child’s birth and follow up surveys took place during their child’s 30 month follow up. The authors found that race, ethnicity, age,

A mother’s socioeconomic status impacts all aspects of not only her life, but that of her child. Where she is situated on the social ladder will influence where she lives, her access to employment opportunities, and to support networks within a community, the availability of reliable private or public transport can greatly limit access as well. It may have also influenced the quality of education she herself received, and the education her child will go on to receive. Poor education, will impact the type of employment she is able to get, which may lead

Like Amy and Loeber (2009), when it comes to the ecological paradigm of teenage pregnancy, Corcoran, Franklin, and Bennett (2000) also believe one’s socioeconomic status is a huge factor that contributes to this problem. A person’s socioeconomic status a lot of times determines “education, expanded family size, single-parent household structure, and lessened resources in terms of employment and income.” These three authors claim that educational performance and goals “dictate the potential costs of child bearing at a young age.” Their studies have also shown that teenage girls’ relationships with the school setting and poorer performance in school serve a greater risk for adolescent pregnancy.