Segregation, Nativity, and Health: Reproductive Health Inequalities for Immigrant and Native-Born Black Women in New York City1

Abstract

This research analyzes differences between immigrant and native-born Black women in the relationship between racial residential segregation and low birthweight risk. Differences in nativity are investigated because sociocultural diversity may affect women's exposure to environmental and psychosocial stressors associated with living in highly segregated neighborhoods and in the presence of protective "ethnic density" effects. Using vital statistics data for New York City on all births to "Black" mothers in 2000, we analyze the associations between segregation and the risk of having a low birthweight infant for immigrant and native-born mothers. Multilevel models are estimated that include maternal characteristics, census tract poverty, and a spatial measure of local segregation. For U.S.-born Black women, living in racially segregated areas—areas with high racial isolation—is associated with a higher low birthweight risk. Similar findings are uncovered for immigrant Black women; however, the association between segregation and low birthweight disappears when differences in country/region of origin are controlled. For immigrant Black women, the health impacts of segregation are much more muted and complex than those for the native-born. [Key words: Racial residential segregation; low birthweight; immigrants; ethnic density; New York City.]