Racial and Residential Disparities in the Health Outcomes of Infants Born to Teen Mothers

Anastasia R. Snyder, Pennsylvania State University
Bridget K. Gorman, Rice University and University of Texas

The past decade has witnessed dramatic declines in teen pregnancy and childbearing for all racial, ethnic and teen age groups. Despite this positive trend, teen childbearing rates remain high and are associated with poor maternal and child outcomes, including poor infant health outcomes. The consequences of teen childbearing also display considerable variation by race, ethnicity, and degree of rurality. How race and rurality interact to impact the health of infants born to teen mothers has not been studied in depth and is a primary focus of this study. We use the National Survey of Family Growth to examine racial and residential disparities in the health outcomes of infants born to teen mothers. The NSFG allow us to examine factors that impact low birth weight, pre-term status, and overall health of a nationally representative sample of infants born to teen mothers.