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Why Black Newborns Need Black Doctors
During childbirth, black newborns are more likely to survive when cared for by black doctors, according to a study published by The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This study found that black newborns are three times more likely to die in the hospital than white newborns while in the hands of white doctors. Furthermore, the mortality rate for black newborns is cut in half when black babies are cared for by black doctors.
According to the researchers, “the largest decrease in the Black newborn mortality rate occurred ‘strikingly’ in complex births and in hospitals that deliver more Black babies.” The race of the doctor caring for white babies did not matter when talking about the likelihood of survival.
The Hill noted that, “Researchers for the study analyzed 1.8 million hospital birth records in Florida between 1992 and 2015 and determined the race of the doctors responsible for each infant.” They also gathered that “the difference in mortality rates can be attributed to racial concordance between the physician and newborn patient.”
The study found no significant relation between the risk of maternal mortality and the race of her doctor. This follows a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study from 2019 that found Black babies were more than twice as likely to pass away before their first birthday, regardless of a mother’s income or education level.
In the U.S., although infant mortality rates have decreased, the disparity between white and black infant mortality rates has grown.
America leads three other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in infant mortality: Mexico, Turkey and Chile. More than 22,000 infant deaths (before their first birthday) were reported in 2017, and black babies died at double the rate of white, Asian or Hispanic infants, according to the CDC.