WEDNESDAY, July 31, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Moving to a new home in the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for low birth weight and preterm birth, according to a study published online July 30 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Julia C. Bond, M.P.H., from the University of Washington School of Public Health in Seattle, and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study to compare the risk for low birth weight, preterm birth, and small for gestational age among women who moved during the first trimester of pregnancy (28,011 women) compared with women who did not move (112,367 women).
The researchers found that compared with non-first-trimester movers, those moving in the first trimester had an increased risk for low birth weight (6.4 versus 4.5 percent; adjusted risk ratio, 1.37; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.29 to 1.45) and preterm birth (9.1 versus 6.4 percent; adjusted risk ratio, 1.42; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.36 to 1.49); the risk for small for gestational age was slightly increased with moving (9.8 versus 8.7 percent; adjusted risk ratio, 1.09; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.09). In all socioeconomic strata, residence change correlated with low birth weight and preterm birth.
“Because up to 25 percent of pregnant women are estimated to move during pregnancy, elucidating associations between moving and adverse birth outcomes has the potential to impact the clinical care of many women and have an important impact on public health,” the authors write.
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