Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Housing Instability and Birth Weight among Young Urban Mothers

  • Published:
Journal of Urban Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Housing instability is an understudied social condition that may be a severe stressor during pregnancy. Aims of this study are to identify correlates of housing instability and to explore the association between housing instability and birth weight among pregnant teens and young mothers. Participants included pregnant women ages 14–21 from seven community hospitals and health centers in New York City (N = 623). Data were collected via structured surveys during the second trimester of pregnancy (14 to 24 weeks gestation, M = 19.35, SD = 3.20). Birth weight was obtained through labor and delivery logs. Housing instability was operationalized as two or more moves within the past year. More than one in four (28.5 %) pregnant teens and young women in this sample reported housing instability. Women who reported housing instability were less likely to be enrolled in school, have parents as main source of financial support, live in a single-family home or apartment, or be food secure; they were more likely to smoke (all p < 0.05). After adjusting for important clinical, behavioral, and demographic factors typically associated with lower birth weight, housing instability remained a significant predictor of lower birth weight (B (SE) = −83.96(35.47), p = 0.018). Results highlight the importance of housing stability during pregnancy for infant health. Future interventions and policies should ensure that women are housing stable before, during, and after pregnancy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Child Health USA 2013; Available at: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa13/dl/pdf/chusa13.pdf. US Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed September 30 2014.

  2. Yang S, Platt RW, Kramer MS. Variation in child cognitive ability by week of gestation among healthy term births. Am J Epidemiol. 2010; 171(4): 399–406.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Dunkel Schetter C, Tanner L. Anxiety, depression and stress in pregnancy: implications for mothers, children, research, and practice. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2012; 25(2): 141–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Johnson A, Meckstroth A. Ancillary services to support welfare to work. Washington DC U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1998

  5. Duchon LM, Weitzman BC, Shinn M. The relationship of residential instability to medical care utilization among poor mothers in New York City. Med Care. 1999; 37(12): 1282–1293.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Cohen R, Wardrip K. Should i stay Washington DC or should i go? Exploring the effects of housing instability and mobility on children Center for Housing Policy 2011

  7. Robertson CT, Egelhof R, Hoke M. Get sick, get out: the medical causes of home mortgage foreclosures. Health Matrix Clevel. 2008; 18(1): 65–104.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Cutts DB, Meyers AF, Black MM, et al. US Housing insecurity and the health of very young children. Am J Public Health. 2011; 101(8): 1508–1514.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kushel MB, Gupta R, Gee L, Haas JS. Housing instability and food insecurity as barriers to health care among low-income Americans. J Gen Intern Med. 2006; 21(1): 71–77.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Ziol-Guest KM, McKenna CC. Early childhood housing instability and school readiness. Child Dev. 2014; 85(1): 103–113.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Barrow SM, Herman DB, Cordova P, Struening EL. Mortality among homeless shelter residents in New York City. Am J Public Health. 1999; 89(4): 529–534.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Fischer PJ, Breakey WR. The epidemiology of alcohol, drug, and mental disorders among homeless persons. Am Psychol. 1991; 46(11): 1115–1128.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Suglia SF, Duarte CS, Sandel MT. Housing quality, housing instability, and maternal mental health. J Urban Health. 2011; 88(6): 1105–1116.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Stein JA, Lu MC, Gelberg L. Severity of homelessness and adverse birth outcomes. Health Psychol. 2000; 19(6): 524–534.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Allen J, Gamble J, Stapleton H, Kildea S. Does the way maternity care is provided affect maternal and neonatal outcomes for young women? A review of the research literature. Women Birth. 2012; 25: 54–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Ickovics J, Kershaw T, Westdahl C, et al. Group prenatal care and perinatal outcomes: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 110: 330–339.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Wilcox AJ, Skjaerven R. Birth weight and perinatal mortality: the effect of gestational age. Am J Public Health. 1992; 82(3): 378–382.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Gans KM, Ross E, Barner CW, Wylie-Rosett J, McMurray J, Eaton C. REAP and WAVE: new tools to rapidly assess/discuss nutrition with patients. J Nutr Feb. 2003; 133(2): 556S–562S.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Black SE, Devereux PJ, Salvanes KG. From the cradle to the labor market? The effect of birth weight on adult outcomes. Q J Econ. 2007; 122(1): 409–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Matte TD, Bresnahan M, Begg MD, Susser E. Influence of variation in birth weight within normal range and within sibships on IQ at age 7 years: cohort study. Bmj. 2001; 323(7308): 310–314.

  21. Richards M, Hardy R, Kuh D, Wadsworth MEJ. Birth weight and cognitive function in the British 1946 birth cohort: longitudinal population based study. BMJ 2001; 322: 199–203.

  22. Oreopoulos P, Stabile M, Walld R, Roos LL. Short-, medium-, and long-term consequences of poor infant health. J Hum Resour. 2008; 43(1): 88–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Richards R, Merrill RM, Baksh L. Health behaviors and infant health outcomes in homeless pregnant women in the United States. Pediatrics. 2011; 128(3): 438–446.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Collins J Jr, Wambach J, David R, Rankin K. Women’s lifelong exposure to neighborhood poverty and low birth weight: a population-based study. Matern Child Health J. 2009; 13(3): 326–333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Gavin AR. Mediators of adverse birth outcomes among socially disadvantaged women. J Women’s health (Larchmont, NY 2002). 2012; 21(6): 634–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. de Valero Bernabé J, Soriano T, Albaladejo R, et al. Risk factors for low birth weight: a review. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2004; 116(1): 3–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Smid M, Bourgois P, Auerswald CL. The challenge of pregnancy among homeless youth: reclaiming a lost opportunity. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2010; 21(2 Suppl): 140–156.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Rodriguez C. NYC’s poverty rate goes up for 3rd straight year. WNYC News. September 20, 2012.

  29. NYC Affordable Housing Resource Center. Available at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/housinginfo/html/apartments/apt_rental.shtml. Accessed April 28, 2013.

  30. Brooks-Gunn J, Furstenberg FF Jr. Adolescent sexual behavior. Am Psychol. 1989; 44(2): 249–257.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH074399 and R01 MH07394) and a training grant (T32MH020031) that funded Dr. Earnshaw’s effort. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Bianca V. Carrion

    Present address: Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA

  2. Emily C. Stasko

    Present address: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA

    Bianca V. Carrion, Valerie A. Earnshaw, Trace Kershaw, Jessica B. Lewis, Emily C. Stasko & Jeannette R. Ickovics

  2. Clinical Directors’ Network, New York, NY, USA

    Jonathan N. Tobin

Authors
  1. Bianca V. Carrion
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Valerie A. Earnshaw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Trace Kershaw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jessica B. Lewis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Emily C. Stasko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jonathan N. Tobin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jeannette R. Ickovics
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeannette R. Ickovics.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Carrion, B.V., Earnshaw, V.A., Kershaw, T. et al. Housing Instability and Birth Weight among Young Urban Mothers. J Urban Health 92, 1–9 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-014-9913-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-014-9913-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation