Perinatal & Pediatric
Maternal and paternal characteristics: associations with adverse birth outcomes in Chile 1992-2020 Estela Blanco* Estela Blanco Ana Karen Espinoza W. Conor Rork Paola Rubilar Raquel Jiménez
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Perinatal outcome research focuses almost exclusively on maternal characteristics. While a growing body of research indicates that paternal characteristics play a role as well, the literature is inconclusive due to limitations including poor sample sizing and data reliability. We evaluated maternal and paternal characteristics (age, education and employment status) and the relationship with preterm birth (birth <37 weeks’ gestation), low birth weight (LBW, birth weight <2500 grams) and LWB at term (tLBW) using national data from Chile.
METHODS: Chilean birth records from 1992 – 2020 were used (n=7,084,698). We estimated whether paternal (<25, >40, compared to 25-40) and maternal age (<20, 20-35, >35), education (none, high school, greater than high school, compared to primary school), and employment status (employed versus not employed) related to preterm birth, low birth weight, and term low birth weight (tLBW), adjusting for year of birth.
RESULTS: Younger and older mothers (<20 and >35) and fathers (<25 and >40) had higher odds of having offspring with PTB, LBW, and tLBW, although the magnitude of the association was stronger for mothers (OR [95% CI] for PTB= 1.41 [95% CI 1.40-1.42] age >35 years compared to 20-35 versus 1.12 [95% CI 1.11-1.13] for men >40 compared to 25-40). Current employment among fathers was a protective factor for all perinatal outcomes (OR between 0.93-0.96) and the opposite was true for mothers, although the magnitude of the effect was modest (ORs between 1.01-1.03). For fathers, no education, compared to primary education, was a risk factor for PTB, tLBW, and LBW (1.12, 1.37, 1.21) and odds decreased as education increased from high school (OR=0.98, 95% CI 0.97-0.99) to greater than high school (OR=0.94, 95% CI 0.93-0.96). For women, no education was a risk factor for all perinatal outcomes and we observed no differential odds related to higher levels of education.
CONCLUSIONS: We found that both maternal and paternal characteristics (age, education and employment status) related to adverse birth outcomes. In general, the strength of association was stronger for maternal, compared to paternal, characteristics.
