Racism May Affect Infant Mortality Rates
WASHINGTON - For decades, health experts have tried to determine why African-American babies are twice as likely to die as white infants. 
A new series of studies from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies’ Health Policy Institute, along with a small but growing number of neonatalogists nationwide, suggests that the stressful effects of racism play a role.
“That’s the elephant in the room,” said Michael Lu, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who studies disparities in infant health. “When we’re studying racial disparities, for decades people have looked at stress and infant mortality without looking at the reasons for the stress.”
Black infant mortality is a complicated puzzle that includes poverty, poor nutrition, inadequate prenatal care, teen pregnancy, heredity, high blood pressure, stress, obesity, low birth weights and prematurity. However, some neonatologists and child health advocates have pushed for more research to get behind the social reasons why these factors seem to take a higher toll on African-American infants than they do on other babies.
For the 600 black women in Atlanta who participated in a related study on the effects of racial discrimination on health, the reasons for their higher stress levels ranged from hearing white teachers comment on “those kids” to working extra long hours to win acceptance from white colleagues.
“The pregnancy scares the life out of me because I am pregnant with a baby boy, and I know how black boys are treated in this society,” one study participant told researchers from Spelman College and Emory University in Atlanta.
In his research, Lu and his colleagues found that the disproportionately higher number of fast-food restaurants and liquor stores, lower number of grocery stores and the higher cost of fresh produce in many urban, predominately black communities caused poorer pregnant black women to make stressful choices about what to eat and where to live. So did the higher crime rates in these communities and worries about sending children to poorly equipped, understaffed schools.
Lu and other researchers see these factors as part of a trend of racial inequality that’s stressful to some poorer black expectant mothers.
“We know that one of the leading causes of infant mortality among African-Americans is preterm birth,” Lu said. “We know that stress is an important risk factor, and it initiates the release of stress hormones leading to preterm birth and increase susceptibility for infection. The question is, do we think racial discrimination and racism is stressful?”
Over the past few years, several researchers have published studies in the American Journal of Public Health and the New England Journal of Medicine that examine this issue. The researchers found that whether rich or poor, well-educated or barely literate, African-American women were still more likely than white women, first-generation, poor Hispanic immigrant women and foreign-born black women to have premature and low birth-weight babies. In his research, Lu also found that when foreign-born black women had been in the United States for a generation they showed the same infant mortality rates as American-born black women.
“For many years, the operating theory in the health community has been that the high incidence of infant deaths among African-Americans is attributed to higher teen pregnancy rates, single motherhood, lower education levels, poverty and, most recently, genetic causes,” said Ronald David, a physician, professor and co-author of the Joint Centers’ recent research on infant mortality. “However, we found that infant mortality for blacks remained high even when all these factors were controlled.”
Though the infant mortality rate for all races has decreased over the past two decades, the United States still has one of the highest rates among developed nations. In this country, the infant mortality rate for black babies is 13.5 per 1,000 live births, compared with roughly 5.7 for whites and Hispanics, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The problem is especially acute in rural areas such as Mississippi’s Delta region along U.S. 61, and urban centers such as Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tenn. - which has a zip code where the infant mortality rate is higher than those of many Third World nations.
Organizations such as the Joint Center and the Black Women’s Agenda, which focuses on issues of importance to African-American women, hope that additional research on the connection between racism and infant mortality might spark change. A PBS documentary, “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick,” slated to air next year, explores the disparity in infant mortality and other ways in which racial and social inequality may affect health care.
McClatchy Newspapers 2007
Could it be that toxic dumps and industry are generally located closer to areas where Blacks and other dis-empowered poor and minority populations live? Could it be the effects of generations of malnutrition due to poverty related to racism? Should any of this be a mystery?
“Racism May Affect Infant Mortality Rates”
Hey, no kidding, what a surprise (not!).
I live in a burb, majority white, we have dumps, chemical research companys and major electrical work stations. Difference being, I have great health insurance and was able to receive proper medical care.
As long as healthcare is not provided, equally, among all Americans this will only worsen.
They put liquor stores, cigarette billboards and bars on every corner in non-white neighborhoods. When you feel like shit already temptation is not so simple to resist.
“Racism May Affect Infant Mortality Rates”
What a surprise! Who could have guessed! Talk about overstating the obvious…
While these studies are instructive and pretty much verify for Black what we already know, they will do nothing to the opinions of many white Americans. Most whites don’t realize how many of the things we notice them doing or saying to us affects or upsets us because most Black people will ignore a lot (like a white person telling you you’re “articulate”, or assuming that because you’re a tall Black man you must love basketball) in the white person’s presence. The feelings are internalized and you take them home with you.
These things might seem insignificant, but their effects are not. It’s one of the harsh prices we’ve paid for thinking this whole “melting pot” idea is amenable to healthy living when it obviously isn’t.
Thoughts carry energy and intention.
The racist thoughts of others, negative energy inside the mother due to stress from experiences of racism, all affect the health and life of the fetus.
“disproportionately higher number of fast-food restaurants and liquor stores, lower number of grocery stores and the higher cost of fresh produce in many urban, predominately black communities”
So obviously there are two possibilities - 1) powers that be are trying to keep non-whites down by opening up “negative” stores and not “positive” stores in non-white neighborhoods and ignoring supply and demand, or 2) these distribution of stores are reflecting the demand in that particular neighborhood.
Call me crazy but I think 2) is the right answer, as businesses are there to make money, not keep people up or push them down. If people in these neighborhoods stopped buying fast food and liquor those stores would close down, period. Can someone please explain the flaw in my thinking, and explain this vast consipiracy of opening stores that lose money so they can keep non white people down?
For the record I am left of center and agree with 90% of the stories here, but this is too much.
As a registered nurse I primarily work with pregnant women who have a myriad of disparities. Working with this high risk population I see a lot of poor outcomes. Yes, I attribute the poor outcomes to all of the negative factors that we have seen addressed in the countless of studies conducted recently, but not until we really look at overt institutional racism in the health care community will we be able to truly get our arms around this issue.
Racism affects EVERYTHING is the USA.
The country was, after all, founded on the twin bricks of Slavery and Genocide.
It has nothing to do with the location of liquor & fast food stores though (see my earlier post).
As for the USA, you must give it some credit for the bloodiest war in its history being about ending slavery (and state’s rights). It has also become the largest melting pot in the world.
And where do you live, moonraven? Does your country have a spotless record? Dare I say that most do not..
“to working extra long hours to win acceptance from white colleagues.” These type of businesses want part-time and will not pay overtime to any color.
“the stressful effects of racism play a role.”
If it is that stressful-why would they want to have children. Last time I checked everyone is kicked out of the hospital after 1 day.
“disproportionately higher number of fast-food restaurants and liquor stores, lower number of grocery stores and the higher cost of fresh produce in many urban, predominately black”
These business are owned by foreign owners-gasoline stations too.
Unless they are getting urban tax credits from the gov. businesses expect to make money-not be stolen from.
The problem is poor diet, lack of support(family and community) They need more of an enterprising and raise the bar attitude and not a “gimmee attitude.”