Self-rated health and teenage pregnancies in Roma women: Increasing height is associated with better health outcomes
Authorized Users Only
2019
Article (Published version)

Cambridge Core
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This paper reports on the association between early marriage, age
at first reproduction and height, as an indicator of childhood environment,
and maternal health outcomes among traditional Roma women in Serbia.
Demographic data, marital and reproductive histories, height, weight and
self-rated health were collected from 414 Roma women living in rural settlements
in Serbia in 2015–2017. Data analysis showed that higher age and
weight were associated with a greater risk of poor health, greater height contributed
to reduced risk of poor health while reproductive variables were
insignificant. The study provides evidence that the long-term effects of early
childbearing may not always be associated with poorer health status. As indicated
by the differences in height, it is likely that women who were capable
of reproducing very early on and staying healthy in later life were probably
very healthy to begin with. The results probably reflect both the biological
and social differenc...es of early childhood. Aside from height, the traditional
Roma marriage pattern and social benefits may have an additional protective
effect on the health of women.
Keywords:
height / health / Roma / womenSource:
Journal of Biosocial Science, 2019, 51, 3, 444-456Publisher:
- Cambridge core
Projects:
DOI: 10.1017/S0021932018000196
ISSN: 0021-9320