“Health inequalities exist in France from the very first moments of life”. According to a study by the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED), the weight of babies at birth depends in part on the social background and the mother’s diploma.
This study, based on the Elfe survey which follows 18,000 children born in France in 2011, reveals that women without a diploma more often have babies weighing less than 2.5 kg at birth. This risk is 50% times higher for women without any diploma than for women who have the baccalaureate.
And this relationship between level of education and weight of the baby at birth is confirmed beyond the baccalaureate: after at least two years ofstudies higher, the risk of having a baby under 2.5kg drops by 25% compared to women who only have the bac.
When we take into account household income, the birth order of the child, the age of the mother and the height of the parents, this difference of weight depending on the level of education decreases, but does not disappear completely. In particular, the study reveals that mothers under 28 give birth to low birth weight children more frequently than those aged 31 to 34. However, births at earlier ages are often synonymous with a low level of education and a more disadvantaged background.
In an attempt to explain these results, the researchers highlight the consumption of tobacco and alcohol by pregnant women, more frequent among women with little education. This type of behavior is indeed very harmful to the baby and often results in a lower birth weight.
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