What we can learn from how a doctor’s race can affect Black newborns’ survival

Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 08:50 in Health & Medicine

At the beginning of life, babies face racial health disparities that imperil their survival. The infant mortality rate in the United States is more than twice as high for Black infants as it is for white infants: 10.8 deaths per 1,000 live births compared with 4.6 per 1,000 as of 2018, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now a study suggests that when Black newborns are treated by Black physicians after birth, the mortality disparity between Black and white babies shrinks. Why a doctor’s race makes a difference remains a complicated question. But the answers may point to how to make sure the best care is available to all babies from all doctors. Health disparities are differences in health that are tied to economic, social or environmental disadvantages. The inequities that fuel these disparities include differences in access to health care (SN: 4/23/19) and exposure to pollution (SN: 7/30/20)...

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