One part of Sowards' study of infant mortality concerned the age of the mother at the time of her child's birth. When statistics are incomplete, age at first birth appears more strongly associated with infant mortality than it might if the statistics were better. Poverty and disadvantage predispose young women to early motherhood, but they bring with them other factors that may affect pregnancy such as stress, nutrition and lifestyle habits. These factors must be accounted for in any statistical models that draw conclusions from the data. Infants of Mexican-American mothers died less frequently from birth weight related disorders than those of Anglo mothers.
Statistics often fall short, and more interpretative methods such as interviews are needed.
Sowards' study of pregnancy, birth and survival will probably not end with these two projects. In the future, she'd like to talk with the mothers and others on the receiving end of the care. It's clear from her experiences that these people would like to talk with someone outside of the health care profession.