Accounting for the social disparity in birth weight: results from an intergenerational cohort.

S ocial disparity in birth weight is well recognised but less well explained. Maternal height, smoking, substance misuse, and micronutrient deficiency are the most likely determinants of social disparities in birth weight. Intergenerational effects through maternal birth weight and growth in early childhood have also been suggested as mediators of social difference in birth weight. 3 This paper uses data from the 1958 British national birth cohort to study variables, originating at different stages in the maternal life course, that may mediate the disparity in birth weight.