Maternal and Infant Health of the Mexican-Origin Population in the United States: Acculturation, Duration, and Selection

Miguel Ceballos, University of Michigan

In this paper we investigate the role of acculturation and return-migration selection on the health of the Mexican-origin population in the United States by examining the finding that the healthy birth outcomes of Mexican women living in the United States deteriorate with increased duration in the U.S. Two competing hypotheses explaining this ‘paradox’ are tested: the cultural hypothesis, which posits that acculturation affects birth outcomes through sociocultural and behavioral factors common among Mexican women, and the return-migration selection hypothesis, which posits that immigrants who return to Mexico select on health characteristics. Data on maternal and infant health, migration history, and socioeconomic characteristics of Mexican women living in two predominantly Mexican communities in the U.S. is analyzed and compared with a national sample of U.S. women. analyzes of birth outcomes of first generation Mexican women provide results consistent with the selection hypothesis.