The 2016 presidential election was stressful for many, but that stress may have impacted the health of a specific population. The 2016 campaign and election may be associated with a jump in preterm birth rates among foreign-born women in New York City, according to a study from the city health department and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Preterm birth, or premature birth, occurs when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Experts say stress is a factor in premature births, and that preterm births increase the risk of infant mortality.
Following the 2016 presidential election, there was a rise in hate crimes across the country, according to the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism. New York City reported the most total hate crimes with 380 instances, a 24 percent increase from 2015.
This study suggests that the increase in hate crimes as well as sociopolitical stressors around the 2016 presidential election may have contributed to the pattern of premature births among women who felt targeted.
“This analysis highlights how the stress caused by racism and discrimination may induce preterm births, which are extremely harmful to both mothers and babies,” said Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot in a statement. “Every woman in this city has the right to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery regardless of their race or immigration status.”
2016 presidential election and preterm birth rates
For the study, researchers looked at birth certificates of all single births that occurred in New York City from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2017.
Self-reported information on those birth certificates detailed maternal race, ancestry and nativity, which researchers looked at to classify these mothers around whether they were at risk of anti-immigrant, anti-Latino and anti-Muslim discrimination.
In that time period around the 2016 presidential election, the New York City premature birth rate increased from 7.0 percent to 7.3 percent, but no change occurred among women born in the United States.
Instead, the study found, preterm birth rates rose among foreign-born mothers from 6.7 percent to 7.0 percent. Latina women experienced the biggest increase, especially those born in Mexico and Central America whose rates rose from 7.3 percent to 8.4 percent. The rise in preterm birth rates among women from the Middle East/North Africa and from travel ban countries was smaller, officials said. Rates did not change among white or black women.
“Any increase in preterm birth rates is a cause for concern. New York City is already struggling with hugely disproportionate rates of maternal mortality and morbidity between white and black women,” said Council Member Helen Rosenthal in a statement. “As a city, we must intensify and expand our efforts to provide the necessary support and resources for expecting mothers before, during, and after birth, especially in our most vulnerable communities.”
