Maternal Education-Related Patterns of Early Preterm Birth Rates: The Impact of Paternal Acknowledgment
Catherine L Austin1, Kristin M Rankin2, Blair A Simon1
1Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Division of Neonatology-#45, Chicago, IL Kristin M. Rankin, PhD.
Ethnicity & Disease
|June 8, 2026
Summary
Paternal acknowledgment impacts early preterm birth rates differently across racial/ethnic groups. College education protects non-Latina White women regardless of paternal acknowledgment, but benefits African American and Latina women only when fathers are acknowledged.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Maternal education attainment is linked to preterm birth rates.
- Paternal acknowledgment's role in this relationship is not fully understood.
- Disparities in preterm birth exist across racial and ethnic groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if paternal acknowledgment modifies the association between maternal education and early preterm birth rates.
- To analyze these relationships across non-Latina White, African American, and Latina women.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis of 2019 US natality data.
- Inclusion of singleton births to US-born non-Latina White, African American, and Latina women.
- Stratified and multivariable log binomial regression analyses.
Main Results:
- Paternal acknowledgment varied significantly by race/ethnicity and maternal education.
- Among births with non-acknowledged fathers, college education showed a protective effect only for non-Latina White women.
- Among births with acknowledged fathers, higher maternal education was associated with decreased early preterm birth rates across all racial/ethnic groups.
Conclusions:
- The protective effect of college education on early preterm birth for non-Latina White women is independent of paternal acknowledgment.
- For African American and Latina women, college education's benefit on early preterm birth is observed only when fathers are acknowledged.
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