Abstract

Birth records show that San Bernardino County has the highest black infant mortality rate of the 16 counties in California with the largest proportion of African-Americans births. Although total infant deaths in San Bernardino County had fallen to 8.6 per 1,000 live births by 1992, the infant mortality rate among the black population of the county was close to two times higher at 16.8 per 1,000. This is the first study to address the high infant mortality rate among blacks in San Bernardino County. Factors which may affect the black infant mortality rate were examined.

Subjects were drawn from a geographical cohort of African-American women who actively participated in the WIC Program during January 1 to June 30, 1993. Pertinent information about the subjects and their pregnancy outcome was collected by reviewing WIC records kept by the Nutrition Program at the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. The modal mother was between 18-35 years old, single, had completed 8-12 grades in school, and was within her ideal BMI range.

A total of 557 subjects were divided into four Body Mass Index (BMI) groupings based on Institute of Medicine definitions. Maternal pre-pregnancy weight and weight gain during pregnancy were significant predictors for infant birthweight in underweight women. Weight gain during pregnancy was a significant predictor for infant birthweight among normal weight and overweight mothers but not among obese mothers.

There were tendencies for non-smokers to have infants with lower birthweight. There were no significant differences in birthweight according to which trimester the mother began prenatal care, number of the prenatal care visits, or maternal educational level.

Based on 24-hour dietary recalls, subjects in this study achieved the WIC recommended number of servings for bread and cereal intake. Nearly 56% met the recommended number of servings for protein, but only 20% met the recommended number of servings for dark-green vegetable, less than 50% met the number of servings for vitamin C, and only 22% met the recommended number of servings for milk.

This study substantiates the importance of appropriate weight gain as well as long and short-term nutritional factors on the outcome of pregnancy.

Department

Nutrition

School

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Patricia K. Johnson

Second Advisor

Jerry W. Lee

Third Advisor

Ella H. Haddad

Degree Name

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

1994

Date (Title Page)

6-1994

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Blacks -- California -- San Bernardino County; Pregnancy; Weight Gain; Birth Weight; Maternal Health Services -- California -- San Bernardino County

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

x; 142

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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