How teen experiences and lifelong stress contribute to racial gaps in mothers' and babies' health
Official title: Racialized inequities in birth outcomes and maternal health following childbirth: the role of maternal early-life disadvantage, adolescent contexts, and pre-pregnancy stress
Funded at University of Nevada Reno · NIH-11167615 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking at how girls' experiences in adolescence and stress before pregnancy may help explain why Black mothers and infants often face worse health outcomes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Nevada Reno NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Reno, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2024 |
| Project end | August 14, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $161,856 |
| NIH project number | 5R21HD115143-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11167615 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This research is about adolescent girls who later became mothers and is most directly relevant to women of reproductive age—especially Black women and others who experienced early-life disadvantage.
✕Less likely to help
People whose health concerns are unrelated to pregnancy, early-life social stress, or maternal mental health may not see direct benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
This project uses long-term data from the national Add Health study to trace girls' social and stress experiences from adolescence into adulthood and childbirth. Researchers will analyze links between early-life disadvantage, teen social environments, measures of stress and biological aging, and later birth outcomes and maternal mental health. By following people across time, the team aims to identify patterns and pathways that could point to when and how to support young people to prevent problems later in life. The work relies on existing survey and health data rather than enrolling new participants.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could point to early-life prevention and support strategies that reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes and postpartum mental health.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked early-life disadvantage and stress-related 'weathering' to poorer birth outcomes, but using the Add Health longitudinal data to map adolescent contexts to later maternal and infant health is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Nevada Reno
Reno, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Koning, Stephanie Michelle — University of Nevada Reno
- Study coordinator: Koning, Stephanie Michelle
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Pregnancy choices and outcomes to support healthier mothers and babies
This study follows 2,200 women to understand how pregnancy preferences affect health before, during, and after pregnancy.
-
Making Marketplace insurance available for pregnancy earlier
This grant looks at whether treating pregnancy as a qualifying life event helps pregnant people access Marketplace health insurance earlier to support prenatal care.
-
Assessing maternal health and pregnancy outcomes in women veterans
This study looks at how pregnancy goes for women veterans, who may have more challenges than other women, by checking records to find out about things like cesarean sections and complications, so the VA can make better care plans for them.
-
How Pregnancy Preferences Connect with a Mother's Health
This project looks at how women's feelings and plans about pregnancy connect with their health during and after childbirth.
-
How including pregnancy as a qualifying life event can improve maternal and child health
This study is looking at how recognizing pregnancy as a special reason to sign up for health insurance could help expectant moms get the prenatal care they need, especially for those who don’t qualify for Medicaid or employer insurance.
-
Investigating how maternal health during pregnancy affects autism risk in children
This study is looking at how different health issues that moms might have during pregnancy could affect the chances of their children developing autism, and it’s for parents who want to understand more about the factors that might play a role in this condition.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.