Although previous studies show the rates of pre-term birth (PTB) vary based on race and location, little is known about the origin of these differences. Therefore, ECHO researchers Anne Dunlop, MD, MPH, of Emory University, and Alicynne Glazier-Essalmi, of Michigan State University, sought to explore the link between the mother’s socioeconomic status (SES), race, location, and pre-term birth (PTB). Their research, titled “Racial and geographic variation in effects of maternal education and neighborhood-level measures of socioeconomic status on gestational age at birth: Findings from the ECHO cohorts,” is now published in PLoS One.
The participants involved in this study included women enrolled in the ECHO Program who delivered a baby, totaling more than 20,000 mother-infant pairs. These women provided all of the required information about themselves and their infant, including the mother’s age at delivery, education, physical address or region, alcohol use, prenatal care, and the child’s birth sex and gestational age. The research team then took this data and looked for patterns and connections between the given information and factors that affect PTB.
The study found race and ethnicity played a role in how early the child was born. Additionally, compared to non-Hispanic white women, women of all other races had a higher chance of PTB. “Education also played a role,” said Dunlop. “For women overall, a bachelor’s degree or above was linked to less chances of PTB, and a high school education or less led to higher chances of PTB.” This connection between education level and PTB was seen in women who lived in the South and Midwest regions of the United States. Lastly, non-Hispanic white women living in rural areas had a higher chance of PTB delivery compared to women living in urban areas.
“This study explored an important gap in the field of children’s health, as it gathered information on several factors that affect when and if a child is born prematurely,” said Glazier-Essalmi. “Given our findings on education, it is possible that higher education among women could decrease the chances of PTB in the county, especially in the South and Midwest regions.”
Because non-Hispanic Black women, Native American, and Alaskan Native women have the highest rates of PTB, future studies can help identify the causes for this difference and determine ways to prevent PTB in these populations.