BMJ  2008;336:1027-1028 (10 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39540.596782.BE (published 10 April 2008)

Editorials

Migration and health behaviour during pregnancy

Immigrant women adopt poorer health behaviour after migration

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The accompanying prospective national cohort study by Hawkins and colleagues adds to the literature on acculturation (the social and psychological exchanges that take place when different cultural groups interact), health disparities, and the use of alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy.¹ It finds that after women immigrate to England, their maternal health behaviours worsen as their length of residency increases.

Smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy are common in the United States and Europe and are important preventable causes of maternal morbidity during pregnancy, poor fetal development, and poor infant health.^{1 2} As smoking and alcohol consumption increase in developing countries, such as those in South East Asia and the Western Pacific region,^{3 4} taboos against these behaviours in women weaken, and more women are at risk of smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

The World Health Organization predicts that 20% of all women will smoke by 2025, up from 12% in 2005. . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Carolina Population Center and Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina, NC, 27516-2524 USA

Related Article

Influence of moving to the UK on maternal health behaviours: prospective cohort study

Summer Sherburne Hawkins, Kate Lamb, Tim J Cole, Catherine Law the Millennium Cohort Study Child Health Group
BMJ 2008 336: 1052-1055. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]