Distressed births linked to mental and physical problems later in life

A research study crafted by two University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School professors establishes a strong correlation between distressed births and experiencing mental and physical problems later in life.

Published in Medical Care, a peer-reviewed journal seeking to improve healthcare administration and delivery, the paper focused on three categories of distressed births:

• Newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units
• Babies with low birth weights
• Infants delivered prior to term

"We were aware of literature that investigated various forms of distressed births and short-term outcomes experienced as an infant," said co-author professor Michael T. French, Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy. French and co-author Karoline Mortensen, professor and associate director of Miami Herbert's Center for Health Management and Policy, both wondered if distressed-birth babies might be more susceptible to health problems later in life.

French, a health economist, and Mortensen, a health services researcher, scoured data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health (Ad Health) for answers. Their quest was aided by Yang Wen, a data analyst with the Department of Health Management and Policy.

The Ad Health data set had an extensive amount of information about distressed-birth individuals in their late 30s to early 40s. 

"We considered several measures of mental and physical health. These included self-reported overall health status, which is a very common metric used in many surveys. We also examined the presence of chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and other conditions.

"Finally, we analyzed diagnoses for mental health conditions. We found that all of these health outcomes were influenced by whether the individual was the survivor of a distressed birth, versus those who were born with no distress."

Michael T. French, Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy

They also discovered that many distressed births involved economically disadvantaged mothers who were often unhealthy themselves.

"This research has important policy implications, especially as federal and state legislators are debating the future of publicly financed healthcare programs such as Medicaid," French said. "If society can either prevent or minimize distressed births, or provide assistance to new mothers and infants soon thereafter, we can perhaps avoid very expensive healthcare costs related to inpatient hospital stays and emergency room visits."