Maternal appearance affects birth weight –

– Swedish births had a lower birth weight than non-Western mothers compared to mothers born in Sweden, and this gap increases when looking at their children. Previous studies have shown that low birth health can have major effects on socio-economic status in later life, says Siddhartha Aradhya, a researcher in the Department of Population at the Department of Sociology at the University of Stockholm.

The researchers also found that those with non-Western roots were at lower risk of being born with a low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams) when compared to those of Swedish descent. However, they could not find the differences between groups with different foreign backgrounds and Swedish groups.

Other studies in countries with a long history of immigration, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, have reached similar conclusions, but this is the first time it has been analyzed in the context of immigration being a recent phenomenon.

– The results are surprising given the Swedish environment in which all citizens have access to global health and education, especially considering the fact that these people have often fled the countries in conflict. Soul Jurais, a senior lecturer and associate professor and co-author of the study in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Stockholm, says they generally excel in Sweden when it comes to security and perhaps financial resources.

Discrimination may be one of the explanations

The researchers used demographic data to analyze the birth weight of two generations of women (mothers and daughters) born in Sweden with a Swedish-born or foreign-born grandmother. The researchers studied differences in average birth weight and the risk of low birth weight (below 2500 g). Third-generation people with non-Western roots had a birth weight of approximately 147 grams less than those of Swedish background. Even after the researchers tested other factors such as maternal BMI, birth weight, height, gestational age, age of birth, smoking during pregnancy, education and income, significant indescribable differences between Swedish and Western countries were 80 grams. Backgrounds.

– This does not mean that their birth weight has decreased over time, but they have slipped behind. For all other groups, the birth weight increased over generations, which generally follows the development of the community. If these gaps continue to widen, we can really start talking about the level of inequality we see in countries like the US and the UK, says Siddhartha Aradhya.

– Siddhartha Aradhya says the differences in birth weight are not small considering that moderate smoking during pregnancy is associated with a birth weight of less than 200 grams.

According to the study, the birth weight gap between these groups has emerged in Sweden.

– Second generation of immigrants born and raised in Sweden and having children in Sweden. Previous studies have shown that discrimination can negatively affect human health, which may be an explanation. Soul Jurass says the experience of being seen as “another” in society and how it affects one’s health.

Researchers believe that some of the imbalances we see in later life start at birth:

– If we see third generation immigrants from non-Western countries getting bad school results, we must also remember that we were born unequal. And since this only applies to this group, we can talk about racial inequality as the majority are seen as non-white. If we ignore these symptoms now, it will be a problem in the future, says Soul Jurassic.

Science article:

Immigrant descent and birth weight in two generations born in Sweden: an intermediate joint study. (Siddhartha Aradhya, Siniwasa Vittal Kadigiretti, Soul Jurassic).

Contact:

Siddhartha Aradhya, Researcher, Department of Population, Department of Sociology, University of Stockholm. [email protected]
Soul Jurass is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Stockholm. [email protected]