Father's Ethnic Background Influences a Child's Birthweight

New research highlights a strong association between father's ethnic background and a child's birth weight.

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital reveal that not just the mother's ethnic background but also the father's ethnic background too has the potential to influence a child's birthweight. 

 Birthweight is an essential marker to measure the growth of the baby in the initial days and weeks after birth. The researchers examined nearly 692,301 births recorded with Vital Statistics in Ontario between 2002 and 2009.

In the current study, led by a physician and researcher Dr. Joel Ray at the hospital's Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, birthweights among different ethnic groups were studied. Babies considered too small or large in the womb sometimes require medical interventions like c-section deliveries.

The current birthweight charts are based on Western European standards, hence, babies born to Asian origin parents might be classified under weight, whereas for people of Asian origin this is normal weight. Birthweight graphs compare one baby's weight to others of the same age.

Due to the increasing number of mixed race families in Canada, it is essential to know the impact of ethnic backgrounds on birthweight. Dr. Joel Ray had initially developed the first newborn weight curves for specific ethnic groups across Canada but it included just the mother's ethnicity.

The study says that babies born to a foreign-born mother and a foreign-born father weigh about six per cent less than those whose both parents are born in Canada. Babies of a Canadian-born mother and foreign-born father weigh quite a bit less than those of two Canadian-born parents. Babies of a Canadian-born father and a foreign-born mother weigh somewhere in between.

The researchers also looked at whether area of residence affected the child's birthweight. If the immigrant parents resided in a crowded neighborhood of people from the same ethnic background, the babies weigh comparatively less than those born to Canadian parents. This was true among the male babies.

The finding was documented in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.