The Impact of Immigration Policy Changes on Preterm Birth Rates in Texas: An Examination of Border and Nonborder Regions

Marvellous A Akinlotan; Fatma Marouf; Bryn Esplin; Scott Horel; Jane N Bolin; Alva O Ferdinand

doi:10.1016/j.whi.2024.03.006

The Impact of Immigration Policy Changes on Preterm Birth Rates in Texas: An Examination of Border and Nonborder Regions

Womens Health Issues. 2024 May 8:S1049-3867(24)00026-4. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2024.03.006. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Marvellous A Akinlotan¹, Fatma Marouf², Bryn Esplin³, Scott Horel⁴, Jane N Bolin⁵, Alva O Ferdinand⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Dentistry, Texas A&M University, Dallas, Texas; Southwest Rural Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Electronic address: akinlotan@tamu.edu.
² School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
³ School of Law, Texas A&M University, Fort Worth, Texas.
⁴ Southwest Rural Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
⁵ Southwest Rural Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; School of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Bryan, Texas; School of Nursing, Texas A&M University, Bryan, Texas.

PMID: 38724342
DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2024.03.006

Abstract

Background: Our study examined the acute and sustained impact of immigration policy changes announced in January 2017 on preterm birth (PTB) rates among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women in Texas's border and nonborder regions.

Methods: Using Texas birth certificate data for years 2008 through 2020, we used a multiple group interrupted time series approach to explore changes in PTB rates.

Results: In the nonborder region, the PTB rate among Hispanic women of any race was 8.64% in 2008 and was stable each year before 2017 but increased by .29% (95% CI [.12, .46]) annually between 2017 and 2020. This effect remained statistically significant even when compared with that of non-Hispanic white women (p = .014). In the border areas, the PTB rate among Hispanic women of any race was 11.67% in 2008 and remained stable each year before and after 2017. No significant changes were observed when compared with that of non-Hispanic white women (p = .897). In Texas as a whole, the PTB rate among Hispanic women of any race was 10.16% in 2008 and declined by .07% (95% CI [-.16, -.03]) per year before 2017, but increased by .16% (95% CI [.05, .27]) annually between 2017 and 2020. The observed increase was not statistically significant when compared with that of non-Hispanic white women (p = .326).

Conclusions: The January 2017 immigration policies were associated with a sustained increase in PTB among Hispanic women in Texas's nonborder region, suggesting that geography plays an important role in perceptions of immigration enforcement. Future research should examine the impact of immigration policies on maternal and child health, considering geography and sociodemographic factors.