Racism may affect infant mortality rates

[rodeodance]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers



Posted on Fri, Sep. 28, 2007
Racism may affect infant mortality rates
Halimah Abdullah | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: September 28, 2007 07:43:32 PM

WASHINGTON — For decades, health experts have tried to determine why African-American babies are twice as likely to die as white infants.

A new series of studies from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies' Health Policy Institute, along with a small but growing number of neonatalogists nationwide, suggests that the stressful effects of racism play a role.

"That's the elephant in the room," said Michael Lu, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who studies disparities in infant health. "When we're studying racial disparities, for decades people have looked at stress and infant mortality without looking at the reasons for the stress."

..........

For the 600 black women in Atlanta who participated in a related study on the effects of racial discrimination on health, the reasons for their higher stress levels ranged from hearing white teachers comment on "those kids" to working extra long hours to win acceptance from white colleagues.

"The pregnancy scares the life out of me because I am pregnant with a baby boy, and I know how black boys are treated in this society," one study participant told researchers from Spelman College and Emory University in Atlanta.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/v-print/story/20099.html

[McCamy Taylor]

1. This could explain why college education does not lower infant mortality for Blacks

as it does for whites and Hispanics in the US. And elevated levels of stress hormone could cause impaired fetal circulation and placental development, just like asthma.

[whistle]

2. Not may affect...DOES AFFECT infant mortality directly and those babies

...which survive the racism threats and neglects past infancy are affected throughout their childhood, into their teens, into young adulthood, past their prime and into their elderly lives, by the threats which racism continuously poses to the lives and heath of minorities in the United States. It is a jungle mentality and it progressively worsens with every generation. It is not much different now then before the 1960s, it is just covered up more that's all. Shootings in black neighborhoods rather than lynchings, anti-unionization rather then direct race discrimination in the workplace, school voucher systems and home-schooling rather than segregated schools. voter caging instead of voting registration discrimination, etc.

[fortyfeetunder]

3. It goes way back to colonization, slavery

http://www.diversityinc.com/public/2165.cfm

Read the article...this has some insight...

[Exultant Democracy]

4. No, really? Gosh that is sooo unexpected.

From the womb to the tomb, it sucks to be black in America.

[flashl]

5. Kaiser Health Disparities Reports

Weekly

[Solly Mack]

6. (duh)

but I'm glad someone is paying attention now

[silverojo]

7. Why don't they look at another obvious reason

On average, black people are poorer. Therefore, they can't afford good pre-natal care (and welfare/Medicaid sure as hell isn't overflowing with good doctors, either). Also, if you're living on food stamps, you can't afford to eat a decent diet to help a fetus grow to become a healthy baby.

Even if the baby's immediate parents aren't hurting for money, chances are that they were born to parents who weren't financially secure. Problems with your own development can result in problems with your baby's development.