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Distributions of Adverse Childbearing Experiences Across Racial and Ethnic Groups: A Research Note

Mieke Beth Thomeer1, Courtney Williams2

  • 1Department of Sociology and Southern Population Aging Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.

Demography
|November 21, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Black and Hispanic individuals face more adverse childbearing outcomes. Latent class analysis revealed four distinct complication patterns, unequally distributed across racial and ethnic groups, highlighting disparities in reproductive health.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Health
  • Sociology of Health and Illness
  • Health Disparities

Background:

  • Adverse childbearing experiences like preterm birth and NICU stays disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic populations.
  • Existing research often examines adverse outcomes individually, potentially obscuring patterns of co-occurrence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify distinct patterns (classes) of adverse childbearing experiences using latent class analysis.
  • To examine the distribution of these patterns across racial and ethnic groups within a large longitudinal cohort.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) dataset (N=3,637).
  • Application of latent class analysis to identify clusters of adverse childbearing experiences.

Main Results:

  • Four classes of adverse experiences were identified: Minimal Complications, High Childbearing Complications, Complex Gestation, and Increased Medicalized Interventions.
  • These classes showed unequal distribution across racial and ethnic groups, indicating specific risks for certain populations.
  • Findings highlight clustering of complications, such as closely spaced births and C-sections, and their association with race/ethnicity.

Conclusions:

  • Adverse childbearing experiences are not monolithic but cluster into distinct patterns.
  • Racial and ethnic disparities are evident in the types and frequency of these clustered adverse outcomes.
  • Understanding these patterns is crucial for addressing reproductive health inequities and informing future well-being.

Keywords:
ChildbearingLatent class analysisRacial and ethnic disparitiesReproductive life course

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