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  • Title: Childspacing intervals and abortion among blacks and whites: a brief report.
    Author: Russo NF, Horn JD, Tromp S.
    Journal: Women Health; 1993; 20(3):43-51. PubMed ID: 8266707.
    Abstract:
    Although physical, psychological, and social problems for children born to women denied abortion have been identified, little attention has been paid to the role that close childspacing might play in contributing to those problems. Small childspacing intervals (less than two years) have been linked to numerous physical, psychological, and social problems for mother and child. Using secondary analysis, this study examines the characteristics of 596 mothers who sought abortions in 1987 by race and age. Nearly 25% of these mothers had at least one child under two years of age. Abortion patients with such young children were more likely to be Black and have low incomes than abortion patients with older children. More than half of the mothers studied had more than two children. The findings suggest that a substantial number of children born to women denied access to abortion would be closely spaced, with the resulting adverse health consequences falling more heavily on subpopulations of abortion patients already at higher risk for negative perinatal and neonatal outcomes. 1 out of every 2 abortion seekers have been identified as mothers already; little attention has been directed to the consequences for these women, who also may have close child spacing and poor reproductive outcomes, of denial of access to legal abortion. Child spacing of less than 2 years has been associated with diminution of the physical and mental health of mothers and infants. Births to single mothers have been associated with lower birth weights, which involve higher risk for health, psychological, and social problems. Black unmarried mothers have been found to be at higher risk for poor birth outcomes. In this examination, chi square and cross tabulations were used to assess the impact of access to abortion on child spacing for mothers at high risk for unfavorable birth outcomes. 1987 data from 30 abortion providers and 686 mothers were obtained from the Alan Guttmacher Institute on abortion patients provided by nonhospital facilities that performed at least 409 abortions performed annually in the United States. The results indicated that 1 out of 4 mothers already had a child under the age of 2 years, of whom black mothers were a larger proportion. More than 1 out of 2 mothers already had 2 or more children. The majority of mothers were single heads of households, which varied from 65% for white mothers aged 20-45 years to 100% of black mothers aged 15-19 years. Low income ($11,000/year) was reported by more than 1 out of 3 mothers. Of all the mothers, the findings show that large proportions of all mothers grouped by income, age, household head status, and ethnicity were at risk by one or more characteristics. Those mothers with children under 2 years of age were significantly more likely to have been teenagers, black, and have low incomes. Mothers with a child under 2 years of age had more than 2 children and had lower income. A more thorough examination of the multiple factors and risk for lack of access to abortion is needed, since adverse consequences affect more heavily on subpopulations of women at higher risk for negative pregnancy outcomes.
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