Health inequalities among pregnant women and infants with migrant background: a focus on early life risk factors for childhood obesity.

The aim of this PhD thesis is to analyse the extent of ethnic inequalities among pregnant women and newborns in Germany focussing on early life risk factors for childhood obesity. The empirical analyses are based on data from the German perinatal database, pregnancy-related reimbursement data of a German statutory health insurance in Berlin and primary data from a population-based German sample of children in the IDEFICS study. The results indicate that migration background is an independent risk factor for pre- and postnatal outcomes and suggest that the onset of ethnic inequalities in overweight lies in fetal life and early infancy. Prevention approaches should focus on the reduction of obesity and start in early pregnancy with a special emphasis on (young) Turkish women. The findings should also stimulate discussion about the quality and appropriateness of antenatal and perinatal care of pregnant women and newborns with a migration background. A focus might be information on gestational diabetes during routine antenatal care