By Adwoa Boahene

http://kdosssier.wordpress.com

Merriam Webster defines disadvantage as “an unfavorable, inferior, or prejudicial
condition” and/or a “quality or circumstance that makes achievement unusually
difficult.” Comparatively, a strategy is normally defined as “an adaptation or
complex of adaptations that […] serve an important function in achieving
evolutionary success.[i]”

Strategic disadvantages, however, are the exact opposite—they actually accelerate
our evolutionary demise. Thus, we can say strategic disadvantages are the
adaptations, attitudes, behaviors and circumstances that serve to enhance and
entrench poverty, underachievement and social pathologies in our communities over
time.

There are many examples of this in our society today. We intuitively understand
social disadvantage which is the social exclusion and marked disenfranchisement of
women, people of color, and religious minorities at all levels of the social strata.
Similarly, educational disadvantage is at center stage with a national focus on
disparities in quality and achievement in primary, secondary and higher education
institutions across the United States .

The most salient example, however, is economic disadvantage which is “officially”
defined by federal agencies such as the Census Bureau and Department of Health &
Human Services. Recently released federal data shows an alarming increase in the
total number of American families living in poverty (43.6 million). This
disadvantage is even more acute for communities of color with poverty rates for
Blacks and Hispanics at 25.8% and 25.3%, compared to 9.4% and 12.5% among Whites and
Asians, respectively[ii].

Unquestionably, poverty is a strategic disadvantage and a known predictor of poor
lifecourse outcomes. In a similar vein, there is significant overlap between out of
wedlock births and poverty in many communities of color. This phenomenon has been
steadily increasing among all races in the U.S. for decades. There is no secret
here. At issue, are the qualitative differences in the pattern and consequences of
out of wedlock births for minority vs. non-minority women.

Women of color are far and away the biggest drivers of this trend with unmarried
birth rates for Hispanic and Black women outpacing their Asian and White
counterparts[iii]. Contrary to popular belief, teenage pregnancies do not fully
account for the magnitude of these numbers.

Perhaps more important, are the seemingly qualitative differences in unmarried
childbearing—women of color are more likely to be unmarried and not cohabiting with
the father of their children[iv]. This has implications for the burden of parental
responsibility, and psychosocial well-being of the mother.

From a health perspective, we see out of wedlock births are at greater risk for
adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm delivery, low birth weight and subsequent
infant mortality[v]. In this way, out of wedlock births are linked to the persistent
problem of infant low birth weight (<2500 g) which is an important predictor of
infant mortality (i.e. death). The known maternal risk factors for low birth weight
are too numerous to list but include among others: age, race, low socioeconomic
status, low educational attainment and unmarried status.

For children born at low birth weight, the early disadvantage translates for many
into lifelong chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
Obesity is a growing epidemic among children and adults in impoverished urban
communities as the twin perils of poverty and inadequate access to healthy food
increase fast food consumption and result in low diet quality. A closely related
disease, diabetes, is ranked as the 7th leading cause of death in the United States
.

The evidence is clear out of wedlock births inevitably disadvantage children of
color by setting them up for a lifetime of chronic diseases as well as burdensome
health care costs. For the sake of our health and wellness as a community, and our
longevity as a species, we must begin stemming the tide of out of wedlock births
immediately. The numbers tell the story—do the math—we cannot afford to wait any
longer. The remedy is simple: no wedding, no womb.

[i] Merriam Webster Online: http://www.merriam-webster.com/

[ii] Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States : 2009;
accessed 9/18/2010

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb10-144.html

[iii] Ventura SJ. Changing patterns of nonmarital childbearing in the United States
. NCHS data brief, no. 18. Hyattsville , MD : National Center for Health Statistics,
2009. accessed 9/18/2010 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db18.pdf

[iv] Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ et al. Births: Final Data for
2006.National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 57, no. 7. Hyattsville , MD : National
Center for Health Statistics, 2009. accessed 9/18/2010.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_07.pdf

[v] Ventura SJ. Changing patterns of nonmarital childbearing in the United States .
NCHS data brief, no. 18. Hyattsville , MD : National Center for Health Statistics,
2009. accessed 9/18/2010 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db18.pdf

Share on Facebook