Apr
A study published online at bmj.comreports that the maternal health behaviors of women worsen afterimmigrating to the UK. Ethnic minority women who stay in the UK forlonger durations are more likely to smoke during pregnancy and give upbreastfeeding early.
As immigration to the UK has increased over the last 50 years, therehas been more interest in studying the behaviors of ethnic minoritygroups. Forexample, research has indicated that women from ethnic minority groupsare more likely to breast feed than British/Irish white women. However,there are no studies that have assessed cultural differences in howpregnant women treat alcohol and tobacco. Also missing inthe literature are studies that examine whether the health behaviors ofwomen change with acculturation (the adopting of behaviors from the newdominant culture and losing of behaviors from the originalculture).
To address this gap in the literature, researchers from theUCL Institute of Child Health in London studied a sample of 8,588mothers with singleton children - 6,478 British/Irish white mothers and2,110 mothers from ethnic minority groups. The mothers were interviewedabout maternal health behaviors, generational status, and how long theyhave resided in the UK. The behavioral comparisons focused on smokingandalcohol consumption before birth and the initiation and duration ofbreast feeding after birth.
The results showed that mothers from ethnic minority groups were:
- Less likely to smoke than British/Irish mothers (15% vs.37%)
- Less likely to consume alcohol during pregnancy (14% vs.37%)
- Morelikely to start breast feeding (86% vs. 69%)
- More likely to breast feed for at leastfour months (40% vs. 27%).
When focusing on the mothers from ethnic minority groups, theresearchers noticed that first and second generation mothers were morelikely to smoke during pregnancy and less likely to start and continuebreast feeding than more recent immigrants. That is, they were morelikely to exhibit behaviors of the British/Irish mothers.
Strikingly, a five year increase in time spent in the UK was associatedwith a 32% increase in the likelihood of smoking during pregnancy and a5% decrease in the likelihood of breast feeding for at least fourmonths. These findings indicate the acculturation of ethnic minoritypopulations.
The results, “have public health implications for countries with largeimmigrant populations”, write the authors. Health professionals,according to the authors, should not use a woman’s ethnicity to makeassumptions regarding health behaviors, for it could lead to missingmany women who engage in risky behaviors.
“National policies should promote beneficial health behaviours amongall mothers. Recommendations have been modified since the cohortchildren were born. Mothers in England are now recommended to avoid allalcohol during pregnancy and breast feed exclusively for at least sixmonths,” conclude the authors.
An accompanying editorial written by KristaM Perreira (Carolina PopulationCenter and Department of PublicPolicy, University of North Carolina, NC) adds: “Asthe number of international migrants continues to increase worldwide,smokingand alcohol consumption patterns among women in developing countrieswill haveconsequences for medical providers throughout Europe and NorthAmerica.”
She concludes by noting: “Theresearch by Hawkins and colleagues is an important first step indevelopingprogrammes and policies that promote the health of immigrant women andtheirchildren.”
Influence of moving to the UK on maternal health behaviours:prospective cohort study
Summer Sherburne Hawkins, Kate Lamb, Tim JCole, Catherine Law, the Millennium Cohort Study Child HealthGroup
BMJ. (2008).
doi:10.1136/bmj.39532.688877.25
ClickHere to See Article Online
Written by: Peter M Crosta
Copyright: Medical News Today