FRIDAY, April 11 (HealthDay News) -- Women from ethnic minority groups who immigrate to the United Kingdom are less likely to smoke and drink alcohol during pregnancy and more likely to breast-feed than British white women, but acculturation into British society leads to worsening of these health behaviors, according to an article published online April 10 in BMJ Online First.
Summer Sherburne Hawkins, of University College London Institute of Child Health in London, and colleagues compared health behaviors surrounding pregnancy in 2,110 mothers from ethnic minority groups residing in the United Kingdom with a sample of 6,478 British/Irish white mothers. The researchers also investigated whether indicators of acculturation (including language spoken at home and length of residency in the United Kingdom) were associated with these health behaviors.
Compared with British/Irish white mothers, mothers from ethnic minority groups exhibited healthier behaviors during and after pregnancy, such as lower rates of smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and increased rates of breast-feeding, the investigators found. However, acculturation was associated with worsening of health behaviors, the report indicates. For each additional five years spent in the United Kingdom, the likelihood of smoking during pregnancy increased by 31 percent and the likelihood of prolonged breast-feeding decreased by 5 percent.
"As families settle in the United Kingdom, it will be important to support the maintenance of healthy behaviors among women, their daughters and future generations," the authors conclude.
Abstract
Full Text
Editorial
