The Latina Paradox

Arnav Barve

Despite the ever-evolving state of medicine, it is clear that stark racial disparities still exist within the United States’ healthcare system, particularly within the fields of maternal and fetal health. The disparate impact of Covid-19 coupled with the recent reversal of Roe v. Wade has provided a new focus to the widening racial divide in maternal and infant health. While these trends may hold true for a variety of racial groups, Hispanic women often experience more favorable birth outcomes when compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. The "Latina Paradox'' refers to the phenomenon that, despite experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, language barriers, discrimination, and limited access to education and healthcare, Hispanic women living in the United States have more favorable birth outcomes. When analyzing the low-birth weight (LBW) incidence among different racial groups, Martin et al. found that the rate of LBW in the US Latina population was 6.5% compared to 6.9% among non-Hispanic Whites and 13.4% among African Americans with further studies corroborating these findings.(1,2,3) The broad classification of “Latina” includes mothers with roots in any region of Latin America. However, the Latina Paradox is not uniform across these regions; mothers from Mexico and Central America show the strongest birth outcomes. There are numerous theories accounting for this phenomenon including the healthy-migrant theory.(4) This theory suggests that only the healthiest Latinas are able to migrate to the United States and this health advantage thus leads to better birth outcomes. Studies have also looked at the role certain cultural customs/practices may play in the paradox, including the high value placed on interpersonal relationships between women as well as the generational transfer of knowledge between mothers regarding healthy birthing practices. Both of these strong traditions may play a de-facto role of providing effective prenatal care in a culturally competent fashion. The factors contributing to the Latina Paradox are still somewhat unknown, yet the existence of the paradox provides an interesting insight into the importance of social relationships and cultural practices on infant health. 

References 

1. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ, Menacker F, Munson ML. National 

Vital Statistics Report. Births: Final Data for 2002. Vol. 52, No. 10. Hyattsville, 

Md: National Center for Health Statistics. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/Nchs

/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_10.pdf. Accessed February 27, 2004.

2. Franzini L, Ribble JC, Keddie AM. Understanding the Hispanic paradox. Ethn Dis. 

2001;11:496–518.

3. Markides KS, Coreil J. The health of Hispanics in the southwestern United States: an 

epidemiologic paradox. Public Health Rep. 1986;101:253–265.

4. Landale NS, Oropesa RS, Gorman BK. Migration and infant death: assimilation or 

selective migration among Puerto Ricans? Am Soc Rev. 2000;65: 888–909.