Abstract
BackgroundThe geography of where pregnant mothers live is important for understanding outdoor environmental habitat that may result in adverse birth outcomes. We investigated whether more babies were born small for gestational age or low birth weight at term to mothers living in environments with a higher accumulation of outdoor hazards.MethodsLive singleton births from the Alberta Perinatal Health Program, 2006–2012, were classified according to birth outcome, and used in a double kernel density estimation to determine ratios of each outcome per total births. Individual and overlay indices of spatial models of 136 air emissions and 18 land variables were correlated with the small for gestational age and low birth weight at term, for the entire province and sub-provincially.ResultsThere were 24 air substances and land sources correlated with both small for gestational age and low birth weight at term density ratios. On the provincial scale, there were 13 air substances and 2 land factors; sub-provincial analysis found 8 additional air substances and 1 land source.ConclusionThis study used a combination of multiple outdoor variables over a large geographic area in an objective model, which may be repeated over time or in other study areas. The air substance-weighted index best identified where mothers having abnormally small newborns lived within areas of potential outdoor hazards. However, individual air substances and the weighted index provide complementary information.
Highlights
The geography of where pregnant mothers live is important for understanding outdoor environmental habitat that may result in adverse birth outcomes
Our research focuses on being born too small, clinically defined as Small for Gestational Age (SGA) when newborns are below the 10th percentile weight based on sex and weeks of pregnancy, or Low Birth Weight at Term (LBWT) when newborns are less than 2500 g weight at term, 37 or more weeks gestation [7]
The distance-centered methods and weighted sum overlay, commonly used in wildlife habitat studies, are relevant to human habitat related to various environmental health outcomes. This is to date the first study on abnormally small newborns that used a combination of multiple outdoor variables over a large geographic area
Summary
The geography of where pregnant mothers live is important for understanding outdoor environmental habitat that may result in adverse birth outcomes. We investigated whether more babies were born small for ges‐ tational age or low birth weight at term to mothers living in environments with a higher accumulation of outdoor hazards. Toxicant exposures and environmental influences on mothers during crucial stages of pregnancy may result in newborns that are too small or born too early. Our research focuses on being born too small, clinically defined as Small for Gestational Age (SGA) when newborns are below the 10th percentile weight based on sex and weeks of pregnancy, or Low Birth Weight at Term (LBWT) when newborns are less than 2500 g weight at term, 37 or more weeks gestation [7]
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