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Birthweight of babies born to migrant mothers - What role do integration policies play?

ABSTRACT: Birthweights of babies born to migrant women are generally lower than those of babies born to native-born women. Favourable integration policies may improve migrants' living conditions and contribute to higher birthweights. We aimed to explore associations between integration policies, captured by the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), with offspring birthweight among migrants from various world regions. In this cross-country study we pooled 31 million term birth records between 1998 and 2014 from ten high-income countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom (Scotland). Birthweight differences in grams (g) were analysed with regression analysis for aggregate data and random effects models. Proportion of births to migrant women varied from 2% in Japan to 28% in Australia. The MIPEX score was not associated with birthweight in most migrant groups, but was positively associated among native-born (mean birthweight difference associated with a 10-unit increase in MIPEX: 105?g; 95% CI: 24,?186). Birthweight among migrants was highest in the Nordic countries and lowest in Japan and Belgium. Migrants from a given origin had heavier newborns in countries where the mean birthweight of native-born was higher and vice versa. Mean birthweight differences between migrants from the same origin and the native-born varied substantially across destinations (70?g-285?g). Birthweight among migrants does not correlate with MIPEX scores. However, birthweight of migrant groups aligned better with that of the native-born in destination counties. Further studies may clarify which broader social policies support migrant women and have impacts on perinatal outcomes.

SUBMITTER: Sorbye IK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6978482 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Birthweight of babies born to migrant mothers - What role do integration policies play?

Sørbye Ingvil K IK Vangen Siri S Juarez Sol P SP Bolumar Francisco F Morisaki Naho N Gissler Mika M Andersen Anne-Marie N AN Racape Judith J Small Rhonda R Wood Rachael R Urquia Marcelo L ML

SSM - population health 20191021

Birthweights of babies born to migrant women are generally lower than those of babies born to native-born women. Favourable integration policies may improve migrants' living conditions and contribute to higher birthweights. We aimed to explore associations between integration policies, captured by the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), with offspring birthweight among migrants from various world regions. In this cross-country study we pooled 31 million term birth records between 1998 and ...[more]

PMID: 31993489

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Project description:BackgroundThe benefits of facilitating breastmilk feeding and close contact between mother and neonate (family-centred care; FCC) in the perinatal period are well-established. The aim of this study was to determine how the delivery of FCC practices were impacted for neonates born to mothers with perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsNeonates born to mothers with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy were identified from the 'EsPnIC Covid paEdiatric NeonaTal REgistry' (EPICENTRE) multinational cohort between 10 March 2020 and 20 October 2021. The EPICENTRE cohort collected prospective data on FCC practices. Rooming-in and breastmilk feeding practice were the main outcomes, and factors influencing each were determined. Other outcomes included mother-baby physical contact prior to separation and the pattern of FCC components relative to time and local site guidelines.Findings692 mother-baby dyads (13 sites, 10 countries) were analysed. 27 (5%) neonates were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (14 (52%) asymptomatic). Most sites had policies that encouraged FCC during perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection for most of the reporting period. 311 (46%) neonates roomed-in with their mother during the admission. Rooming-in increased over time from 23% in March-June 2020 to 74% in January-March 2021 (boreal season). 330 (93%) of the 369 separated neonates had no FCC physical contact with their mother prior, and 319 (86%) were asymptomatic. Maternal breastmilk was used for feeding in 354 (53%) neonates, increasing from 23% to 70% between March-June 2020 and January-March 2021. FCC was most impacted when mothers had symptomatic COVID-19 at birth.InterpretationThis is the largest report of global FCC practice during the COVID-19 pandemic to date. The COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted FCC despite low perinatal transmission rates. Fortunately, clinicians appear to have adapted to allow more FCC delivery as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed.FundingThe National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia): Grant ID 2008212 (DGT), Royal Children's Hospital Foundation: Grant ID 2019-1155 (EJP), Victorian Government Operational Infrastructure Support Program.

Project description:BackgroundMaternal smoking during pregnancy is related to altered DNA methylation in infant umbilical cord blood. The extent to which low levels of smoke exposure among nonsmoking pregnant women relates to offspring DNA methylation is unknown.ObjectiveThis study sought to evaluate relationships between maternal prenatal plasma cotinine levels and DNA methylation in umbilical cord blood in newborns using the Infinium HumanMethylation 450K BeadChip.MethodsParticipants from the Newborn Epigenetics Study cohort who reported not smoking during pregnancy had verified low levels of cotinine from maternal prenatal plasma (0 ng/mL to <4 ng/mL), and offspring epigenetic data from umbilical cord blood were included in this study (n=79). Multivariable linear regression models were fit to the data, controlling for cell proportions, age, race, education, and parity. Estimates represent changes in response to any 1-ng/mL unit increase in exposure.ResultsMultivariable linear regression models yielded 29,049 CpGs that were differentially methylated in relation to increases in cotinine at a 5% false discovery rate. Top CpGs were within or near genes involved in neuronal functioning (PRKG1, DLGAP2, BSG), carcinogenesis (FHIT, HSPC157) and inflammation (AGER). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses suggest cotinine was related to methylation of gene pathways controlling neuronal signaling, metabolic regulation, cell signaling and regulation, and cancer. Further, enhancers associated with transcription start sites were enriched in altered CpGs. Using an independent sample from the same study population (n=115), bisulfite pyrosequencing was performed with infant cord blood DNA for two genes within our top 20 hits (AGER and PRKG1). Results from pyrosequencing replicated epigenome results for PRKG1 (cg17079497, estimate=-1.09, standard error (SE)=0.45, p=0.018) but not for AGER (cg09199225; estimate=-0.16, SE=0.21, p=0.44).DiscussionSecondhand smoke exposure among nonsmoking women may alter DNA methylation in regions involved in development, carcinogenesis, and neuronal functioning. These novel findings suggest that even low levels of smoke exposure during pregnancy may be sufficient to alter DNA methylation in distinct sites of mixed umbilical cord blood leukocytes in pathways that are known to be altered in cord blood from pregnant active smokers. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8099.

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Birthweight of babies born to migrant mothers - What role do integration policies play?

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Birthweight of babies born to migrant mothers - What role do integration policies play?

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