Infant and prenatal death rates continue to decline, but significant racial disparities continue to exist.
Death rates dropped an average of 1.4 percent per year, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“There has always been a gap in infant morality rates between black and white patients,” said Ariana Sholes-Douglas, a specialist in high-risk pregnancies with Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. “Why does that disparity exist? I hope to be able to answer that question in my lifetime.”
The rate of stillbirths at 20 weeks of gestation or more declined between 1990 and 2003, according to the report released Thursday. However, the fetal mortality rate for black women ? 11.6 deaths per 1,000 live births ? was more than double that of white women ? 4.94 per 1,000.
“While we can see that progress has been made in preventing fetal mortality, it is also clear that substantial disparities remain along race and ethnic lines,” said Marian MacDorman, lead author of the report.
While black woman are more prone to risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and drug use, the gap is too great to explain by those factors alone, Sholes-Douglas said. “Even when you adjust for social and economic status, there always has been a higher mortality rate for black infants.”
The report, “Fetal and Perinatal Mortality, United States: 2003,” was prepared by the CDC?s National Center for Health Statistics and looked at stillbirths as well as deaths occurring soon before or soon after birth.
Risk factors for infant deaths include smoking during pregnancy, maternal obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, infections, placental and cord problems, and a woman having a previous penatal death, according to the CDC.
More CDC findings
» Deaths in pregnancies at 28 weeks of gestation and longer declined
» The fetal death rate for pregnancies at 20 to 27 weeks remained flat
» American-Indian: 6.09 per 1,000 live births
» Hispanics: 5.46 per 1,000
» Asian or Pacific Islanders: 4.98 per 1,000
