J Racial Ethn Health Disparities
October 2024
Preterm birth rates among Black individuals continue to be inequitably high in the USA. Black immigrants appear to have a preterm birth advantage over US-born counterparts. This national cross-sectional study of singleton non-Hispanic Black individuals in the USA from 2011 to 2018 aimed to investigate if the Black immigrant preterm birth advantage varied geographically and how this advantage associated with county-level social drivers of health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Not all individuals self-identify with race categories on birth certificates, selecting "Other" and writing in identities. Our hypothesis was that curating write-in responses in the "Other" race category would contribute to understanding preterm birth inequities.
Methods: We analyzed Pennsylvania birth certificates (2006-2014).
Objective: To evaluate whether community factors that differentially affect the health of pregnant people contribute to geographic differences in infant mortality across the US.
Study Design: This retrospective cohort study sought to characterize the association of a novel composite measure of county-level maternal structural vulnerabilities, the Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI), with risk of infant death. We evaluated 11 456 232 singleton infants born at 22 0 of 7 through 44 6 of 7 weeks' gestation from 2012 to 2014.
Research Design: Community-engaged qualitative study using inductive thematic analysis of semistructured interviews.
Objective: To understand Latine immigrants' recent prenatal care experiences and develop community-informed strategies to mitigate policy-related chilling effects on prenatal care utilization.
Background: Decreased health care utilization among immigrants due to punitive immigration policies (ie, the "chilling effect") has been well-documented among Latine birthing people both pre and postnatally.
Importance: Immigrant birthing people have lower rates of preterm birth compared with their US-born counterparts. This advantage and associated racial and ethnic disparities across the gestational age spectrum have not been examined nationally.
Objective: To examine associations of maternal nativity, ethnicity, and race with preterm birth.
Purpose: Physically or psychologically distressing birth experiences can influence postpartum health, parenting efficacy, and future pregnancy plans. Communication deficits contribute to negative birth experiences. This qualitative analysis explored themes related to communication and negative birth experiences among Black birthing people who experienced preterm birth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the United States (US), epidemiologists have long documented paradoxically lower rates of adverse perinatal health outcomes among immigrant birthing people than what might be expected in light of socioeconomic and language barriers to healthcare, especially as compared to their US-born racial and ethnic counterparts. However, researchers have also documented significant variability in this immigrant birth paradox when examining within and across racial and ethnic subgroups. This review paper summarizes fifty years of research regarding differences in low, preterm birth, and infant mortality in the US, according to the nativity status of the birthing person.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread rapidly around the globe. Nevertheless, there is limited information describing the characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients in Latin America. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 9,468 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Ecuador.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF