Table 1.

Study Measures, Brownsville-Matamoros Sister City Project, Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, August 21-November 9, 2005

Indicator	Question	Definition
Sociodemographic characteristics
Ethnicity	Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic or Latino origin or descent?	Respondents who resided in Mexico were classified as Hispanic. Respondents who resided in the United States were classified on the basis of their responses to the question (ie, Hispanic or Non-Hispanic). Therefore, ethnicity could not be included in analyses limited to Matamoros only.
Age	What is your birth date?	Age was calculated using date of birth and date of interview. On the basis of mean age (25 y), women were divided into 2 groups (<25 y and ≥25 y).
Marital status	What is your marital status now?	Marital status was dichotomized: 1) married or living as married and 2) not married. Women who indicated that they were "married" or "live-in significant other/consensual union" were classified as married. Women who indicated they were "single," "widowed," or "divorced/separated" were classified as not married.
Education	What was the highest grade or level of school you have completed or the highest degree you have received?	Education was divided into 3 groups based on the number of years in school each woman had completed (<8 y, 8-12 y, >12 y).
Employment status	During the 3 months before you got pregnant with your new baby, which of the following best describes your employment status?	Women who responded "employed for wages, money, or a paycheck" or "self-employed" were categorized as employed. Women who responded "out of work" were categorized as unemployed. Women who responded "homemaker," "student," "retired," or "unable to work" were categorized as not in labor force.
Mother's place of birth	In what country were you born?	Possible responses included "Mexico," "the United States," "other," and "don't know." Women who responded "other" and "don't know" were combined into a single group.
Place of residence	In what country do you live?	Possible responses included "United States," "Mexico," "both," "don't know/not sure," and "refused." Women who responded "both" or "don't know/not sure" and women whose place of residence was not recorded were assigned a place of residence on the basis of their place of delivery.
Place of delivery	NA	Place of delivery was recorded at the time of interview. Interviews were conducted in hospitals in Cameron County, Texas, or Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Language spoken during interview	The language in which the interview was conducted was recorded by the interviewer.	The language spoken during the interview was used as a proxy for the primary language of the participant. A respondent who used any Spanish during the interview was classified as Spanish speaker. A respondent who did not use any Spanish during the interview was classified as English speaker.
Health behaviors
Smoking status	Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in the past 2 years? A pack has 20 cigarettes. In the 3 months before you got pregnant, how many cigarettes did you smoke on an average day? A pack has 20 cigarettes.	Tobacco use was created from 2 variables that measured smoked 100 cigarettes in the past 2 years and number of cigarettes smoked on an average day 3 months before this pregnancy. A respondent who had not smoked 100 cigarettes in the past 2 years or had smoked zero cigarettes on an average day 3 months before this pregnancy was classified as a nonsmoker. A respondent who had smoked 100 cigarettes in the past 2 years or who had smoked any cigarettes on an average day 3 months before this pregnancy was classified as a smoker.
Alcohol use	Have you had any alcoholic drinks in the past 2 years? A drink is 1 glass of wine, wine cooler, can or bottle of beer, shot of liquor, or mixed drink. During the 3 months before you got pregnant, how many alcoholic drinks did you have in an average week?	Alcohol use was created from 2 variables that measured any alcohol in the last 2 years and frequency of alcohol use 3 months before this pregnancy. A respondent who drank any alcohol in the past 2 years and who drank any alcohol during the 3 months before this pregnancy was classified as an alcohol user. A respondent who had not had any alcohol in the last 2 years and who drank in the last 2 years but did not drink alcohol during the 3 months before this pregnancy was classified as an alcohol nonuser.
Perinatal/delivery experiences
Infant birth weight	Birth weight was recorded from the birth certificate.	Infants weighing <2,500 g were coded as low-birth-weight. Infants weighing ≥2,500 g were coded as normal-weight.
Parity	Including your most recent pregnancy, how many times have you been pregnant?	Responses were dichotomized: 1) women who had no previous live births and 2) women who had any (ie, 1 or more) previous live births.
Health care coverage during pregnancy	During this pregnancy did you have any kind of health care coverage plan or insurance plan?	Women who responded yes were coded as has coverage, and women who responded no were coded as does not have coverage.
Delivery method	Please tell me which one of the following statements best describes how your new baby was delivered. Vaginally; You went into labor, but had to have a C-section; You didn't go into labor and had to have a C-section.	Possible responses included "vaginal delivery," "cesarean section with labor," and "cesarean section without labor." Responses of "cesarean section with labor" and "cesarean section without labor" were combined.
Prenatal care	How many weeks or months pregnant were you when you had your first visit for prenatal care? Don't count a visit that was only for a pregnancy test or only for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (known in the United States as WIC).	Responses were standardized to weeks. Women who had their first prenatal visit during their first trimester were classified as having received early prenatal care. Women who did not receive prenatal care and those that had their first visit during their second or third trimesters were classified as having received late or no prenatal care (late or none).
Pregnancy intention	Thinking back to just before you got pregnant with your new baby, how did you feel about becoming pregnant?	Responses were dichotomized into groups representing intended pregnancy ("you wanted to be pregnant sooner," "you wanted to be pregnant then") and unintended pregnancy ("you wanted to be pregnant later," "you didn't want to be pregnant then or at any time in the future").

Abbrevations: NA, not applicable.