Street Roots • August 5-11,2016
News
Page 7
Newest Oregonians
Foreign-born mothers accounted for 26 percent of Multnomah County births in 2015
BY EMILY GREEN
STAFF WRITER
djusting to the physical changes and
endless demands a baby brings into
her life can be a struggle for any new
mom.
But for many foreign-bom mothers, these
challenges are more likely to be
compounded by post-traumatic stress,
poverty, discrimination, and in some cases,
the lack of any family or friends to lean on
for support.
Difficulties understanding English can
also make being a new parent especially
challenging for immigrants and refugees as
they try to navigate America’s complex
health care, social service and education
systems.
Last year more than 2,400 babies were
born to foreign-bom mothers in Multnomah
County, accounting for 26 percent of all
births, according to the county health
department.
This substantial share of new babies can
be attributed to an increased immigrant and
refugee population alongside a decline in
the region’s overall birth rate in recent
decades. At its most recent count, the U.S.
Census Bureau indicated 14 percent of
Multnomah County’s population was foreign
born.
To help alleviate the hardships some of
the mothers behind these numbers face,
Multnomah County Department of Health is
expanding support services for immigrant
and refugee families with small children,
including its Healthy Families program.
This program currently serves about 340
families. With turnover, it’s expected to
serve roughly 600 families over the course
of 2016. Immigrants and refugees presently
make up more than half its caseload.
“Refugee families are living off of very
little monetary support, especially in
Multnomah County,” said the Healthy
Families program specialist senior, Lizzie
Fussell. “As housing prices are going up,
they’re having to live farther and farther out
- they’re disconnected from transportation,
community resources and community
gathering spaces.”
The Healthy Families program’s aim is to
support vulnerable families and set their
children up for success by offering a helping
hand to new mothers through the crucial
early development of her child.
Since the program’s inception in 2001,
the county has conducted more than 30,000
screenings of new parents, looking for
indicators of parental stress, such as
poverty and teen pregnancy.
If a family qualifies and chooses to
participate, a family advocate will visit their
home several times a month, helping the
mother to bond with her child and bringing
information on basic child care and
development, birth control and nutrition. In
many cases, home visitors also help families
connect to resources.
According to the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, there is strong evidence
■
Nadiya Zagorodniy, a 21-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, has been in the the Healthy Families program since late in her pregnancy. Her son,
Nathan, is IM. Branka Kravljaca is her Healthy Families home visitor.
this home-visiting model comes at a cost
savings to taxpayers because it promotes
healthy childhood development, which in
turn sends fewer children into social welfare
and mental health programs, and the
juvenile justice system.
It’s also shown to reduce child abuse and
increase school readiness. In 2015, 94
percent of mothers enrolled in the county’s
program reported reading to their child at
least three times per week.
In some cases, Healthy Families home
visitors help immigrants and refugees to
understand nuances of parenting in the U.S.
that may seem obvious to most American-
born mothers.
For example, there are villages in Africa
where mothers allow their children to run
around untethered because they can rely on
their neighbors to keep an eye out, said
Mae Chao, supervisor of the Healthy
Families program at Immigrant and Refugee
Community Organization, or IRCO. She said
home visitors have to explain to mothers
from these parts of the world that in the
U.S., that can be very dangerous because
no one else is watching their baby for them.
IRCO is one of several culturally specific
See BIRTHS, page 11
Through the years: Babies bom to foreign-bora mothers
While it may seem like foreign-born
mothers account for a large share of
births, it may be less than years leading
up to 1900, when 21 percent of the total
US. BIRTHRATE
FOR FOREIGN-BORN WOMEN
U.S. population consisted of first-
generation Americans. Last year, that
figure was 12 percent, although it’s been
Is. BIRTHRATE
on the rise since 1990.
Between 1870 and 1920, the percentage
■ 1994 to 2010: Fluctuated between 57
and 62 births for every 1,000 women
of the U.S. population that was foreign
bom reached above what it was in 2015
(about 14 percent) several times, but then
OREGON’S BIRTHRATE HAS NOT
KEPT PACE WITH ITS POPULATION
GROWTH
declined steadily until 1970 when it was
the lowest it’s been in more than 160
years at 4.7 percent
Oregon birth trends in more recent years
show the percentage of births attributed
■ 1994 to 2010: Fluctuated between 71
and 93 births for every 1,000 women
FOR NATIVE-BORN WOMEN
■ While Oregon’s population has grown
from 3.4 million in 2000 to 3.9 million in
2014, the total number of babies born in
2014 (45,557) was slightly less than it
was in 2000 (45,786).
to foreign-born mothers has fluctuated
between 19 percent and 24 percent since
2000. Multnomah County was only able
to provide data going back to 2011, when
28 percent of births in the county were to
foreign-bom moms.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Historical Tunes
Series Tables; Oregon Health Authority: Vital
Statistics Annual Reports 2000-14; Multnomah
County Department of Health; Pew Research
Center: Statistical Portrait of the foreign Bom
Population in the United States