Low birthweight and childhood health: The role of maternal education

Abstract Purpose Low birthweight (LBW) is associated with myriad health and developmental problems in childhood and later in life. Less well-documented is the variation in the relationship between LBW status and subsequent child health by socioeconomic status—such as education levels and income. This paper examines whether differences exist in the relationship between LBW and subsequent child health by maternal education. Methods We used data from the 1998-2017 National Health Interview Survey to estimate multivariate logistic regression models to determine whether the association between LBW and subsequent child health as measured by general health status, developmental disability, and asthma diagnosis differed by maternal education, net of differences in children’s sociodemographic factors, family background, and medical access. Results The negative association between LBW and subsequent health was typically weaker for children of mothers with less than high school education than it was for children of mothers with higher levels of education. Conclusions The findings on the enduring impact of LBW status on child health for all children, especially those born to mothers with higher levels of education, suggest that all children born LBW should be provided appropriate medical and support services to reduce the lifelong repercussions of poor health at birth.