The sacred dimensions of pregnancy and birth

This paper is an exploratory study of the ways pregnant women in American society are elevated to a sacred status and symbolically marked as moving through a rite of passage. Utilizing insights of Emile Durkheim, Henri Hubert, Marcel Mauss, Mary Douglas, Victor Turner, and Arnold Van Gennep, it analyzes interviews with four women pregnant six to seven months and two women who had recently given birth. The analysis underscores how changes in the ways these women were treated by others, and changes in their dietary and hygienic habits, acted to place them in a special social category. The paper suggests that further research is needed into the roots of these sacralizing behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of this frame of analysis in expanding our understanding of many of the burning social dilemmas currently revolving around the event of pregnancy.Dedicated to the memory of Howard Balin, M.D.I want to thank Harold Bershady, Charles Bosk, Renee Fox, and Adam Weisberger for their contributions to my thinking on this subject and their help and advice in the writing of this paper.     

Predictors of child protective service contact between birth and age five: An examination of California's 2002 birth cohort

This study utilizes population-level birth data to describe those children who may be at greatest risk of maltreatment during the first five years of life. Based on a unique dataset constructed by linking California's administrative child welfare data to statewide vital birth records, a cohort study design was employed to track reports of maltreatment involving children born in 2002. Twelve variables captured in the birth record were selected for analysis. Generalized Linear Models were used to estimate adjusted risk ratios (RR) for each independent variable. Predicted probabilities of CPS contact were computed based on the count of risk factors present at birth. Results suggest that many of the associations previously observed between birth variables and subsequent maltreatment have sustained value in foretelling which children will be reported to CPS beyond infancy. Of the 531,035 children born in California in 2002, 14% (74,182) were reported for possible maltreatment before the age of five. Eleven of the twelve birth variables examined presented as significant predictors of contact with child protective services.     

Predictors of child protective service contact between birth and age five: An examination of California's 2002 birth cohort

This study utilizes population-level birth data to describe those children who may be at greatest risk of maltreatment during the first five years of life. Based on a unique dataset constructed by linking California's administrative child welfare data to statewide vital birth records, a cohort study design was employed to track reports of maltreatment involving children born in 2002. Twelve variables captured in the birth record were selected for analysis. Generalized Linear Models were used to estimate adjusted risk ratios (RR) for each independent variable. Predicted probabilities of CPS contact were computed based on the count of risk factors present at birth. Results suggest that many of the associations previously observed between birth variables and subsequent maltreatment have sustained value in foretelling which children will be reported to CPS beyond infancy. Of the 531,035 children born in California in 2002, 14% (74,182) were reported for possible maltreatment before the age of five. Eleven of the twelve birth variables examined presented as significant predictors of contact with child protective services.     

Neighborhood mechanisms and the spatial dynamics of birth weight

This study addresses two questions about why neighborhood contexts matter for individuals via a multilevel, spatial analysis of birthweight for 101,662 live births within 342 Chicago neighborhoods. First, what are the mechanisms through which neighborhood structural composition is related to health? The results show that mechanisms related to stress and adaptation (violent crime, reciprocal exchange and participation in local voluntary associations) are the most robust neighborhood-level predictors of birth weight. Second, are contextual influences on health limited to the immediate neighborhood or do they extend to a wider geographic context? The results show that contextual effects on birth weight extend to the social environment beyond the immediate neighborhood, even after adjusting for potentially confounding covariates. These findings suggest that the theoretical understanding and empirical estimation of 'neighborhood effects' on health are bolstered by collecting data on more causally proximate social processes and by taking into account spatial interdependencies among neighborhoods.     

Moral problems in birth control

A review of the children who soil and whose parents were referred over the past seven years to the writer for social casework assistance with the management of these children revealed a wide range of parent-child relationships, varying from simple situations to some which were very complex. It is felt now that some of these children need not have been referred for psychiatric assessment and that social workers in medical social work departments could have given the parents all the help that was necessary, working in conjunction with the pædiatricians concerned. A review of the literature lent support to these conclusions.     

The role and effectiveness of traditional birth attendants in Somalia

In Somalia, many organisations have supported Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) training as a strategy to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. An evaluation was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of this intervention and its potential as a component of a national strategy for safe motherhood in Somalia. The study examined the TBAs actual influence in improving a womans chances of surviving life-threatening complications of pregnancy and delivery. The results of the study showed that despite a high standard in TBA training, when dealing with complications such as prolonged labour, haemorrhage or infection, families prefer traditional practices. Families are unlikely to value the opinion of the TBA in making a decision to refer a woman for emergency obstetric care. The report concludes that TBA programmes which exist in isolation of other interventions are unlikely to have any significant effect on maternal mortality although clean deliveries and ante-natal care pectised by trained TBAs may reduce maternal morbidity and perinatal mortality and morbidity.     

International adoption: Issues of acknowledgement of adoption and birth culture

There has been a steady trend of adopting children from other countries. Families who adopt children internationally are faced with not only the acknowledgement of the adoption but the recognition of the birth culture. Thirty four families were surveyed to assess issues regarding the relevance, frequency, and means of acknowledgement of the adoption and birth culture. Findings are reported with suggestions for adoption professionals included.     

Age at first birth, health, and mortality

The biodevelopmental view sees the readiness and soundness of the organism at the time of first birth as its prime link to health and survival years and decades later. It suggests an optimum age at first birth shortly after puberty. The biosocial view emphasizes social correlates and consequences of age at first birth that may influence health and survival many years later. It suggests that better health and survival come from delaying motherhood as long as possible, perhaps indefinitely. Analyses consistently find patterns more in keeping with the biosocial view in a U.S. national sample of women ages 25 through 95. The fitted curves show high levels of current health problems among women who first gave birth in or shortly after puberty. Problems drop steadily the longer that first birth was delayed, up to about age 34, then rise increasingly steeply, particularly after about age 40. For women currently of the same age, the ratio of health problems expected given first birth under age 18 versus around age 34 equals that from currently being 14 years older. Health problems rise steeply with length of having delayed beyond age 40. Mortality hazard also declines with having delayed first birth well beyond the end of puberty. The ratio of mortality hazard between mothers with teenage versus late first births equals that from a 10-year difference in current age. Comparison to nonmothers of similar age and race/ethnicity shows that the correlation of motherhood with health problems and mortality hazard switches from detrimental to beneficial with delay beyond about age 22.     

Does birth spacing affect personality?

This paper studies the causal effect of birth spacing (i.e., the age difference between siblings) on personality traits. We use longitudinal data from a large British cohort which has been followed from birth until age 42. Following earlier studies, we employ miscarriages between the first and second child as an instrument for birth spacing. The results show that a larger age gap between siblings negatively affects personality traits of the youngest child in two-child households. This result sheds a first light on the causal effects of birth spacing on personality traits.     

Household incarceration in early adolescence and risk of premarital first birth

In the second half of the 20th century, the United States experienced a massive increase in incarceration. In response to this growth, a burgeoning scholarship has sought to explore the collateral consequences of incarceration for young children. However, this scholarship has less frequently explored the impact of incarceration on long-term outcomes, how incarceration experienced in periods other than early childhood impacts children, and whether the incarceration of family members other than parents has negative implications for children. Using data from the children of the mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I explore whether household incarceration experienced in early adolescence is associated with a child's risk of growing up to have a premarital first birth. The results suggest that, even after including a rich set of covariates, children who experience household incarceration in early adolescence are at greater risk of having a premarital first birth, particularly when the father or an external household member is incarcerated.     

The effect of war on marriage,divorce and birth rates

The impact of war on marriage, divorce, and birth rates in the United States from 1933 to 1986 is explored. The author concludes that "the involvement of the nation in military activities was accompanied by a decrease in marriage and birth rates but not by any change in divorce rates. Mobilization of the armed forces and demobilization had no discernible impact on divorce, marriage or birth rates."     

Prenatal use of cannabis associated with preterm birth

Self‐reported cannabis use by pregnant women was associated with a significant increase in the rate of preterm birth, even after adjustment for confounding, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.     

Traditional birth attendant training and local birthing practices in India

Training birth attendants (TBAs) provide essential maternal and infant health care services during delivery and ongoing community care in developing countries. Despite inadequate evidence of relevance and effectiveness of TBA training programmes, there has been a policy shift since the 1990s in that many donor agencies funding TBA training programmes redirected funds to providing skilled attendants during delivery. This study aimed to assess the ways in which a TBA training programme in India has been successful in disseminating evidence-based knowledge on birthing practices. TBAs practicing within 16 villages targeted by training programme initiatives were administered with structured questionnaires. The post training birthing practices of trained (24) and untrained (14) TBAs was compared and birthing practices adopted by women assisted by trained (16) and untrained (9) TBAs was analysed. Positive post training practices were hand washing, use of a clean blade for cutting the cord, immediate breastfeeding and weighing of babies. Nevertheless, the training could be further improved with up to date and evidence-based information and more comprehensive instructions. The findings suggest an integration of local and evidence-based knowledge is needed to improve the training. Raising community awareness of public health measures related to maternal and child health is also recommended.     

Marriage following the birth of a child among cohabiting and visiting parents

Approximately half of nonmarital births are to mothers in cohabiting relationships, and an additional 30% are to mothers in visiting relationships. I use data (N= 1,945) from the Fragile Families Study to investigate whether the determinants of marriage in the year following a child's birth are similar for cohabiting and visiting parents. The results show that mothers’ education is predictive of marriage for cohabiting parents, whereas mothers’ earnings are predictive of marriage for visiting parents. The findings imply that visiting mothers place a greater emphasis on economic independence and sufficient resources to establish an independent household before transitioning to marriage. No differences in the association of relationship quality or attitudes and marriage are found.     

State abstinence education programs and teen birth rates in the US

Title V, Section 510 of the Social Security Act, passed in 1996 and implemented in 1998, appropriates funding to states for the purpose of educating minors on the benefits of abstinence before marriage. Despite considerable research on the impact of abstinence education on teen fertility outcomes, high quality population-level studies on state abstinence education using panel data are absent. This paper uses state-level data to analyze the impact of abstinence education on the birth rates for teens 15–17 years by evaluating the Title V, Section 510 State Abstinence Education (SAE) program. For an average state, increasing spending by 50,000/year on SAE can help avoid approximately four births to teenagers, resulting in net savings of50,000/year on SAE can help avoid approximately four births to teenagers, resulting in net savings of 15,652 to the public for each birth avoided.