Excess Early (< 34 weeks) Preterm Rates Among Non-acknowledged and Acknowledged Low Socioeconomic Position Fathers: The Role of Women’s Selected Pregnancy-Related Risk Factors

Objective: To determine the proportion of the excess early preterm birth (< 34 weeks, PTB) rates among non-acknowledged and acknowledged low socioeconomic position (SEP) fathers attributable to White and African-American women’s selected pregnancy-related risk factors for PTB. Methods: Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition methods were performed on the Illinois transgenerational birth-file of infants (1989–1991) and their parents (1956–1976) with appended U.S. census income information. The neighborhood income of father’s place of residence at the time of his birth and at the time of his infant’s birth were used to measure lifetime SEP. Results: Among non-Latina White women, the early PTB rate for non-acknowledged (n = 3260), acknowledged low SEP (n = 1430), and acknowledged high SEP (n = 9141) fathers equaled 4.02%, 1.82%, and 1.19, respectively; p < 0.001. White women’s selected pregnancy-related risk factors for PTB (inadequate prenatal usage, suboptimal weight gain, and/or cigarette smoking) were responsible for 19.3% and 41.2% of the explained disparities in early PTB rates for non-acknowledged and acknowledged low (compared to acknowledged high) SEP fathers, respectively. Among African-American women, the early PTB rate for non-acknowledged (n = 22,727), acknowledged low SEP (n = 4426), and acknowledged high SEP (n = 365) fathers equaled 6.72%, 4.34%, and 3.29%, respectively; p < 0.001. African-American women’s selected pregnancy-related risk factors for PTB were responsible for 21.4% and 20.2% of the explained disparities in early PTB rates for non-acknowledged and acknowledged low SEP fathers, respectively. Conclusions: Non-Latina White and African-American women’s selected pregnancy-related risk factors for PTB explain a significant percentage of excess early PTB rates among non-acknowledged and acknowledged low (compared to acknowledged high) SEP fathers.