Washington: Pregnant women who commute long-distance to work have an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes, including having babies born at a low-birth-weight, a recent study suggests. An analysis of data gleaned from 2014 and 2015 New Jersey birth records, revealed that for pregnant women who commute at least 50 miles to work, each ten miles of travel distance increased the probability of having a low birth weight baby by nearly one percentage point (0.9) or 14 percent, compared to the national average.
In other words, the longer the long-distance commute, the higher the risk for giving birth to a low birth weight infant (low birth weight is defined as under 2,500 grams or about 5.5 pounds). The researchers attribute the higher risk of adverse birth outcomes to an increase in chronic maternal stress induced by a long commute. They also found that long-commutes during pregnancy were associated with under-use of prenatal care, possibly due to less ‘leisure time’ that could be allocated to prenatal visits.
“The finding that low birth weight might be associated with a source of stress like long-distance commuting is somewhat expected since chronic strain has been found to be linked to adverse birth outcomes. However, it was surprising to find an association with under-use of prenatal care among pregnant women commuting long-distance,” said Muzhe Yang, co-author of the study.
