Mother's Union Status at Birth and the Risk of Low Birthweight, 1958-2008

Paula Fomby, University of Colorado at Denver

This study investigates the changing association over time between union status and low birthweight, an indicator of early child well-being with long-term consequences for physical health, behavior, and cognitive performance. Data are drawn from the five most recent waves of the National Survey of Family Growth (1982-2008) to assess whether the contemporary advantage of being born to a married parent relative to an unmarried parent is stronger or weaker compared to historical periods when marriage was more frequently the context for childbearing in the United States. The study also investigates whether the disadvantage of being born to a cohabiting parent compared to a married parent has diminished over time as childbearing in cohabitation has become a more frequent event in an increasingly heterogeneous subset of the population.