Paternal ethnicity and education are associated with perinatal outcomes in African Americans and Whites although there has been inadequate study of Latinos. The objective of this study was to analyze the risk of paternal demographic factors on low birth weight in Latinos.

From the 1990-1992 California birth certificate database all singleton livebirths to Latina and White women were selected (n=1,426,830). Infant birth weight was used to define the outcome variables: very low (VLBW, 500-1,499 grams), moderately low (MLBW, 1,500-2,499 grams) and normal birth weight(2,500-4,000 grams, reference). The primary predictor variables were paternal race/ethnicity (Asian, Black, Latino and White, reference), age (<15, 15-17, 18-26, reference, 27-34 and >34 years) and education (<9, 9-11, 12, 13-15 and >15 years, reference). Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the independent relationship between variables with odds ratios(OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Paternal ethnicity, age and education were associated with the outcomes after adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics, obstetric and health service risk factors. Black and Latino fathers had an elevated risk of VLBW(Black OR 1.44, CI 1.25-1.66, Latino OR 1.14, CI 1.06-1.23) and MLBW infants(Black OR 1.21, CI 1.13-1.30, Latino OR 1.10, CI 1.06-1.14), relative to White fathers. Fathers who were 27-34 years old were less likely to have VLBW (OR 0.92, CI 0.87-0.98) and MLBW infants (OR 0.95, CI 0.93-0.98) than fathers who were 18-26 years old. Fathers with less than college education were more likely to have VLBW and MLBW infants than college-educated fathers (range of OR 1.09-1.41). Maternal ethnicity, age, education and other factors were also associated with the outcomes.

Paternal demographic characteristics, in addition to maternal factors, are associated with low birth weight among Latinos in California. Further study is needed to define the mechanism by which paternal demographic or other factors influence perinatal outcomes.