Pregnancy risk factors and birth outcomes in Washington State: a comparison of Ethiopian-born and US-born women.

Abstract

This study compared birth outcomes of three cohorts of women with singleton live births in Washington State between 1980 and 1991: all Black Ethiopian-born women (n = 264) and samples of US-born Black (n = 526) and White (n = 546) women. Ethiopians were older, more likely to be married, and less likely to smoke than were US-born women, and they were less likely to have anemia than US-born Blacks. The adjusted low-birthweight risk among Ethiopians was similar to that of US-born Blacks (relative risk [RR] = 0.9) and Whites (RR = 1.1). Ethiopians were more likely to have high-birthweight infants than were US-born Blacks (RR = 4.0). Cultural and behavioral etiologies may explain these favorable birth outcomes.