Social inequalities in perinatal health

Social insecurity is a known perinatal risk factor but beyond that, a social gradient in perinatal health is observable. This social gradient is particularly visible for the risk of neonatal mortality from congenital anomalies, premature delivery, and low birth weight. Analysis of mechanisms that would explain how the different dimensions of the social status of women interact with perinatal health indicators are not to this day fully understood. However, numbers of intermediate factors related to both the social status and perinatal risk have been identified. Among them, smoking, drug use, exposure to psychological and physical stress, genital infections, access to care, or drudgery. Finally, it was observed that the interaction of social conditions with the level of maternal education, geographic or ethnic origin, and the environment in which women live are complex and make the generalization of data obtained in a particular context sensitive. (C) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.