Existing research has shown that Black women in the United States are more than 50% more likely to deliver a premature baby than white women.
In a new article published in the Journal of Urban Health, alumna Yeonwoo Kim and professors Shetal Vohra-Gupta and Catherine Cubbin examine how the racial composition of a mother’s neighborhood could shape her risk of premature birth.
Cross-referencing Texas birth certificate data with data on neighborhood racial and ethnic composition over a 20-year period, the researchers found that although Black women had higher odds of having a premature birth than white women, the differences were widest among Black and white women living in neighborhoods with persistently high concentrations of white residents. Researchers noted that Black women may be exposed to stressful race-related experiences in predominantly white neighborhoods, experience social isolation, and overcome racial barriers to access community resources, including adequate health care.