The Effects of Acknowledgment of Paternity and Marital Status on Infant Morbidity and Mortality [ID 2683463

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Research shows that maternal behavior during the perinatal period has a significant effect on neonatal outcomes and that instability in the social support structure can cause undue perinatal stress. With unmarried women accounting for nearly one in three births in the United States, this analysis reviewed how marital status and paternity acknowledgment (AOP) affected infant morbidity and mortality utilizing national 2017–2019 data from the CDC-WONDER databases. METHODS: A series of chi-squared analysis and logistic regressions were performed to assess for differences in infant outcomes between married women, unmarried women with AOP, and unmarried women without AOP, as well as assess the effect of socioeconomic covariates. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that marital and AOP status had significant correlation on frequency of preterm birth, low birth weight, newborn need for assisted ventilation, antibiotics for suspected sepsis, and neonatal intensive care unit admission (P<.0001). Additionally, there were significant differences in Apgar scores found at 5 and 10 minutes for AOP and at 5 minutes for marital status. Furthermore, significant differences in rate of prenatal complication related infant mortality, as well as overall infant mortality up to 1 year of age were seen. These trends persisted when accounting for mother's age, race, nativity, education, insurance status, and select maternal health risk factors. CONCLUSION: It is evident that infants born to unmarried women and women without AOP are at increased risk for development of complex infant morbidity and mortality. This suggests that increased monitoring, precautions, and social support may be indicated. Further studies are needed to evaluate the role of paternal and other support during pregnancy.