Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association
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To estimate the impact of early motherhood (being a mother at < 20 years of age) on ethnic differences in the risk of low birth weight (LBW) in a representative sample (n = 9141) of American infants and children. ⋯ The result of this study underscores the risk of LBW due to early motherhood. Because early motherhood is preventable and avoidable, appropriate public health strategies to educate young women on the need to delay childbearing in these ethnic groups, particularly among Hispanics and Blacks, are warranted.