(965) Is interpreter use an independent risk factor for small for gestational age infants?

We performed a retrospective cohort study at a single center between 1/1/2016 and 12/31/2021; we included singleton, live births ≥21 weeks gestation. We excluded multiple gestations, intrauterine fetal demise, and previable delivery. The primary outcome was rate of small for gestational age (SGA).  SGA was defined as birthweight < 10^th percentile for gestational age using the 2018 Fenton newborn growth curve. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to control for confounding variables.

Results: Of the 26,260 patients included in the study, 71.3% were White, 9.5% were Hispanic/Latino, and 7.9% were Black. Overall, 1,662 (6.3%) patients required or preferred an interpreter. Over half (58.0%) of patients requesting interpreter services were Hispanic. In unadjusted analysis, the rate of SGA was not different between patients who used interpreter services (n = 106, 6.4%) and those who did not (n = 1612, 6.6 %), p = 0.779. After adjusting for race, age, gravidity, gestational age, private insurance, diabetes, hypertension, and pre-pregnancy BMI, the use of interpreter services was associated with decreased odds of SGA (aOR 0.67, 95% CI 0.53 – 0.84).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that use of an interpreter is protective for SGA when controlling for other socioeconomic factors. Additional research is required to explore this association, but our results indicate that recognizing demographic risk factors and providing patients with social resources such as access to interpreter services positively impacts obstetric and neonatal outcomes.