Regional Effects on Maternal and Infant Health of the Mexican-Origin Population in the United States

Miguel Ceballos, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Armenta Brian, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

This study evaluates the existence and persistence of the health advantage of Mexican-origin birth outcomes by state and region of the U.S. using national data on birth outcomes of Mexican-origin women living the United States. Our objective is to examine the relationship of recent and historical immigration and residential patterns to the health of this population by disaggregating national data on birth outcomes of U.S.-born and non-U.S-born Mexicans in the United States relative to non-Latino Whites. This comparative analysis will be conducted using data from the U.S. Natality Detail Public-Use Data Files and the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth Cycle 5 (NSFG V). Preliminary analysis show differences in low birth weight among U.S.- and Mexico-born Mexican-origin women by states with historically high Mexican populations and between those states with recent migration flows of Mexicans immigrants.