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Abstract
This research is rooted in what epidemiologists call the "Latina paradox." According to this "paradox," statistics show that Mexican immigrants in the U.S. give birth to healthy infants despite the fact that they maintain typical risk factors for poor outcomes: low income, lack of health insurance, and low prenatal care utilization. This ethnographic research seeks to gain a contextualized understanding of what Mexican immigrants are doing both inside and outside of the clinic to help prevent poor infant health outcomes.
This study has two major findings regarding women's reproductive practices. First, this study provides Mexican immigrant women's own perspective on the "Latina paradox" and why U.S. Mexicans are giving birth to healthy babies. Mexican women attributed these positive infant health outcomes to their pregnancy practices, which they characterized as "taking caring of ourselves." Specific practices such as not lifting heavy objects, walking a lot, and avoiding alcohol, smoking, and drugs were central to this notion. The role of diet during pregnancy also emerged as a salient theme of this "taking care of ourselves" model. Another theme was the role of "la cuarentena," a 40 day postpartum period of rest for new mothers. Even Mexican immigrants who reported not following this constellation of practices described them as practices that they learned from their mothers and which contribute to healthy babies.
A second important finding is that the cost and payment structure of biomedical care is linked to patterns of use of informal pregnancy management and postpartum practices. Specifically, in locations which require per-visit fees, as opposed to more flexible payment plans, women relied more on informal practices. In contrast, length of residence in the US and birthplace in Mexico were not associated with use of informal practices.
These findings demonstrate that Mexican immigrants in Northeast Ohio use a range of biomedical and informal pregnancy management and postpartum practices which are affected by their cultural background and the socioeconomic realities of the biomedical system. As such, this study provides support for investigations of the "Latina paradox," which acknowledge and examine both sociocultural and structural factors shaping Mexican women's pregnancy and postpartum practices.
