{"id":29166,"date":"2018-01-18T11:43:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T17:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=29166"},"modified":"2018-01-18T12:13:17","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T18:13:17","slug":"how-increasing-the-minimum-wage-could-lead-to-healthier-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/01\/18\/how-increasing-the-minimum-wage-could-lead-to-healthier-babies\/","title":{"rendered":"How Increasing The Minimum Wage Could Lead To Healthier Babies"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_29177\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Baby Jacob weighs 7.14 pounds - some infants aren't as lucky.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29177\" alt=\"Baby Jacob weighs 7.14 pounds - some infants aren't as lucky.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped-620x429.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped-620x429.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped-500x346.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped-1920x1329.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped-150x104.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9854-2Cropped-1561x1080.jpg 1561w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Baby Jacob weighs 7.14 pounds &#8211; some infants aren&#39;t as lucky.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Jacob is just a few hours old when registered nurse Amy Burnett begins one of the simplest measurements to tell if a newborn is healthy \u2014 their weight.<\/p><p>\u201cYou want to make sure that they are naked, they have no diaper, and you bring him to the scale,\u201d she says as she removes his tiny Pampers.<\/p><p>She gently picks him up, confidently balancing his body on her forearm like a football. Her purple gloved fingers encircle his neck as she hits a button on the scale, which beeps loudly, zeroing it out.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/385511747&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more--><\/p><p>He squirms as she places his head toward the top of the plastic rim.<\/p><p>\u201cNow you let it think,\u201d she says gazing at the newborn.<\/p><p>This data are key. Unlike height, a baby\u2019s weight can impact their future. Think of birth weight like Goldilocks. Not too big: That can cause health problems; not too small: Babies should weigh more than 5 and a half pounds.<\/p><p>A few seconds later, the scale makes another loud beep. His weight displays in red digits: 7.14 pounds.<\/p><p>Baby Jacob is just right.<\/p><p>\u201cHe\u2019s doing great,\u201d Burnett says.<\/p>\n<h3>Poverty, stress and smaller babies<\/h3><p>Why pay such <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/201247\">close attention<\/a> to how much babies weigh at birth?<\/p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/publichealth.ouhsc.edu\/FacultyandStaff\/FacultyandStaffContacts\/HealthAdministrationandPolicy\/Kinney.aspx\">Sharyl Kinney<\/a>, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma\u2019s College of Public Health, says babies born at less than 5 and a half pounds have a higher risk of death and are more likely to have developmental disabilities later in life.<\/p><p>\u201dThey\u2019re more likely to have psychomotor problems, to have failure in school and to have health problems,\u201d she says.<\/p><p>About <a href=\"http:\/\/www.health.state.ok.us\/ok2share\/index.shtml\">7.8 percent of babies born in Oklahoma<\/a> are low birth weight, which translates to roughly 4,000 of 50,000 annual births, Kinney says.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29181\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 347px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"More than 7 percent of babies are born at a low birth weight in Oklahoma in 2017.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-29181 alignleft\" alt=\"More than 7 percent of babies were born at a low birth weight in Oklahoma in 2017.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM-620x588.png\" width=\"347\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM-620x588.png 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM-500x475.png 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM-150x142.png 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM-1138x1080.png 1138w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-17-at-4.39.01-PM.png 1688w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 347px) 100vw, 347px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">CDC, Center For Vital Statistics<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 7 percent of babies are born at a low birth weight in Oklahoma in 2017.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Many of those low-weight births are considered preventable; the babies don&#8217;t have a significant health problem, so their weights could have been improved by outside factors, like money.<\/p><p>\u201cBirth outcomes, including low birth weight, is a health indicator that is very sensitive to poverty,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sph.emory.edu\/faculty\/profile\/#!KKOMRO\">Kelli Komro<\/a>, a professor at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta.<\/p><p>Komro is one of the authors of a <a href=\"http:\/\/ajph.aphapublications.org\/doi\/10.2105\/AJPH.2015.303007\">study<\/a> published in the American Journal of Public Health that looked at how changing the minimum wage in different states over three decades affected birth weights.<\/p><p>\u201cOur estimate is that if a state would increase the minimum wage by $1 above the federal minimum wage, that would lead to one to 2 percent fewer low-birth-weight births,\u201d she says.<\/p><p>That means if Oklahoma were to raise its minimum wage by $1, up to $8.25 per hour, as many as 80 babies a year could weigh more at birth. That would decrease the likelihood that they would need special education in school or grow up with other health issues \u2014 both of which could save the state a lot of money <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/11251610\">down the road<\/a>.<\/p><p>Changing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/regions\/southwest\/news-release\/minimumwageworkers_oklahoma.htm\">minimum wage<\/a> affects women the most. That\u2019s because, in Oklahoma and many other states, women make up two-thirds of minimum wage earners.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29178\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"The maternity unit at Norman Regional HealthPlex.\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9861.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29178\" alt=\"The maternity unit at Norman Regional HealthPlex.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9861-620x413.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9861-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9861-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9861-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9861-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/01\/IMG_9861.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The maternity unit at Norman Regional HealthPlex.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Komro says other researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/29073507\">have found<\/a> that increasing the minimum wage leads to \u201cincreased access to prenatal care and reduced smoking among mothers. It could also reduce a mother\u2019s stress, and we know that reducing stress would be beneficial for birth outcomes.\u201d<\/p><p>Legislators in some states are starting to address the link between wages and newborn health outcomes. Komro says a few policymakers have requested data from her team, wanting to know how exactly raising the minimum wage would help kids in their state. Oklahoma officials have not requested data.<\/p><p>\u201cOur hope is that policymakers will take the health effects of these policies into consideration in their debates,\u201d she says.<\/p><p>In 2011, the Oklahoma state health department launched programs to increase the number of <a href=\"http:\/\/opqic.org\/initiatives\/pfl\/ewc\/\">full-term pregnancies<\/a>, and Oklahoma\u2019s birth weights are improving. But health officials are reluctant to push for more. They say advocating for a change to the minimum wage \u2014 even if research says it might help \u2014 isn\u2019t their job: That\u2019s up to the Legislature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jacob is just a few hours old when registered nurse Amy Burnett begins one of the simplest measurements to tell if a newborn is healthy \u2014 their weight.\u201cYou want to make sure that they are naked, they have no diaper, and you bring him to the scale,\u201d she says as she removes his tiny Pampers.She [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":29177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[756,757,755],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29166"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29195,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29166\/revisions\/29195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}