Despite a nationwide decline in cesarean births over the past decade, Black women have seen their risk of receiving C-sections grow compared to other groups, according to a new study analyzing 30 million births from 2012 to 2021.Non-Hispanic Black women now face the highest cesarean delivery rate at 30.9 percent, surpassing Asian or Pacific Islanders at 28 percent, Hispanic women at 27.6 percent, and non-Hispanic whites at 26.5 percent. The disparity actually widened during the study period, with Black women’s relative risk increasing from 2012 to 2021.”What this tells me is we need to center the work that’s addressing these…
Author: Disparity Matters
The United States has earned a D+ for the fourth consecutive year on the March of Dimes Report Card, a stark sign that the nation’s maternal and infant health system remains in crisis. Behind the stagnant national preterm birth rate of 10.4% lies a widening racial divide: babies born to Black mothers now face a preterm birth rate of 14.7%, nearly one and a half times the rate for all births. These gaps persist even as nearly 380,000 babies were born too soon last year.The report also highlights disparities linked to insurance coverage. Babies born to mothers covered by Medicaid…
Despite national efforts to curb unnecessary cesarean deliveries, racial and ethnic gaps remain stark—and in some cases, have grown. A new analysis of more than 30 million U.S. births from 2012 to 2021 shows that while overall cesarean rates declined slightly, non-Hispanic Black individuals faced a rising risk compared with other groups.Researchers found that 30.9% of births among non-Hispanic Black mothers were cesarean, the highest among all racial and ethnic groups. Adjusted risk ratios reveal the disparity widened over time: from 1.12 in 2012 to 1.17 in 2021. Among multiparous individuals without a prior cesarean, the gap was even more…
For the fourth year in a row, the United States has earned a D+ on the March of Dimes Report Card, a stark signal that the nation’s maternal and infant health system remains “dangerously stalled.” Nearly 380,000 babies were born too soon in 2024, leaving the national preterm birth rate stuck at 10.4 percent and placing the U.S. among the highest of developed nations for this measure. Behind that stagnant average, the report describes widening racial disparities that fall hardest on families of color. Preterm birth rates among babies born to Black moms and birthing people climbed to 14.7 percent,…
Despite an overall decline in cesarean deliveries across the United States, non-Hispanic Black women face increasingly higher rates of surgical births compared to other racial and ethnic groups, according to a comprehensive study examining 30 million births between 2012 and 2021.The research revealed that Black women consistently experienced the highest cesarean rates throughout the study period. In 2012, their adjusted risk for cesarean delivery was 12% higher than other groups. By 2021, that disparity had grown, with Black women facing a 17% increased risk. This widening gap occurred even as cesarean rates among white and Hispanic women decreased slightly.The disparity…
A comprehensive study of over 30 million births in the United States reveals troubling trends in cesarean delivery rates among different racial and ethnic groups. While overall cesarean rates decreased slightly from 2012 to 2021, the disparities affecting non-Hispanic Black individuals not only persisted but actually worsened over this decade.Researchers analyzing national birth data found that non-Hispanic Black women faced significantly higher risks of cesarean birth compared to other racial groups. The adjusted risk ratio increased from 1.12 in 2012 to 1.17 in 2021, indicating a widening gap. This disparity was particularly pronounced among first-time mothers and those without previous…
Across the contiguous United States, nearly 47 million people live within about a mile of at least one piece of fossil fuel infrastructure, from oil and gas wells to refineries, power plants, storage sites, and pipelines. More than 14 percent of the population is potentially exposed to pollutants from this largely hidden network, and those exposures are not shared equally.Researchers at Boston University School of Public Health report that these facilities are disproportionately clustered in predominantly nonwhite communities, creating what they describe as an environmental injustice across all stages of the energy supply chain. Prior research already links living near…
A new analysis of U.S. adults with prediabetes reveals that social and economic inequalities sharply shape who lives and who dies from this common condition. Drawing on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 and 2018, researchers show that social determinants of health are tightly linked to mortality in people living on the brink of diabetes, with especially harsh consequences for those already facing systemic disadvantage.The report highlights “striking variations in mortality” tied to socioeconomic status, with lower-income adults experiencing markedly higher death rates than their more affluent peers. Limited access to quality healthcare and lower…
Black women face the highest rates of false-positive mammograms, a finding that could deepen existing racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes. New screening data show an overall false-positive rate of 13.8%, but the rate climbs to 43.3% for Black women—more than triple the average and higher than any other racial group. Younger women are also disproportionately affected, with a rate of 32% among those ages 40 to 49. These false alarms do more than trigger worry. They shape whether and when women return for future screenings. Among those who eventually returned, only 57.4% of Black women came back, compared with…
Stomach cancer rates have dropped nationwide over the past decades, but experts warn the decline hasn’t reached everyone. Latino communities continue to face a disproportionate burden, with cases occurring more frequently and often at younger ages. According to the American Cancer Society, about 26,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S., yet Latinos are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to develop the disease—and typically a decade earlier.Researchers point to multiple factors behind this disparity. Infection with Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium linked to chronic stomach inflammation, is more common among Latinos. Socioeconomic barriers compound the problem: limited access…