Racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality constitute a critical public health problem. North Carolina (NC) ranks 45th in teh US, with 8.5 infant deaths per 1,000 life births compared to the current US rate of 6.6 per 1,000 live births. Among minorities in NC, the rate is even higher 13.9 per live births
A small number of studies has established risk profiles of childhood obesity by examining the combined effect of pre-and postnatal maternal factors as well as children's characteristics on childhood overweight/obesity