Study Uncovers Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Rate of Preterm Births Among American Mothers

According to a new study led by the University of California, San Francisco, preterm births in the United States are on the rise, particularly among Black, Native American, and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander mothers.

In an examination of more than five million births in the United States between 2011 and 2022, the study authors found the overall rate of preterm births rose from 6.8 percent to 7.5 percent. When broken down by socioeconomic status and racial background, stark disparities emerged. Black mothers with public insurance, such as medicaid, were the most likely group to experience a preterm birth at a rate of 11.3 percent, followed by Native Americans with public insurance (10.3 percent) and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander mothers with public insurance (9.3 percent).

Over the same time period, the rate of preterm births experienced by Native American women and Hispanic women with private insurance jumped from 6.4 percent to 9.5 percent, and from 7.1 percent to 7.4 percent, respectively. These figures are significantly higher than the current 5.8 percent rate found among White mothers with private insurance.

The authors stress that their findings point towards an urgent need to improve care for pregnant women of color, particularly those from low-income families. In their analysis, the authors found that when mothers received prenatal care and nutritional support, their rate of experiencing a preterm birth decreased. The authors urge public health leaders to use their findings to promote these support programs to vulnerable groups, thereby improving reproductive health and addressing the persistent disparities of preterm births in America.

In addition to the University of California, San Francisco, the study authors included scholars from the University of California, San Diego, Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles, California State University, Northridge, New York University, Indiana University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.