October 04, 2007
Health Disparities and Maternal Health
From womensenews.org:
Researchers at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found college-educated black women twice as likely as other women to deliver premature or underweight babies. Scientists found subjects' birth outcomes resembled those of unemployed, uninsured white women with low education levels.
These are among the findings of five landmark reports released today by the Washington-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies that draw together existing data in a comprehensive review that calls for an end to the inequities.
The center concludes that African American babies--who are twice as likely as white infants to die before their first birthday--will have a better shot at life if the health inequities plaguing black mothers, such as less prenatal care and adequate nutrition, are corrected.
The original studies can be found at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.