ABSTRACT
Most of the national level policy debate about minorities has concentrated on blacks and black issues. The Latino population, fueled by immigration and fertility, is growing rapidly. A portion of the non-Latino population sees Latino growth as a source of unending social pathology and, thus, as a threat. More Latinos are equated with more social problems. The standard risk-factor model posits that mothers of low income, low education, and limited access to health care run the risk of negative birth outcomes: low birthweight babies, high neonatal and infant mortality. Maternal drinking is bound to have an effect on birth outcome. Female drinking is a commonly reported trait of underclass women. Immigrant Latinos have much lower income and education than the native born. Within the Latino group, when we compare the immigrant to the native born, oddly enough, the immigrant demonstrates even healthier behavior and outcomes than the native born.
