Ethic Disparities And Infant Mortality Among African American

Intense studies show that African American infants have less of a chance at seeing their first birthday than white infants do. What are the dangers that these infants come in contact with? Are the problems related due to bad health care at birth or something else?

It goes without saying that there is a certain amount of risk in the carrying and giving birth of a child. This risk has existed since the first child was conceived, and can be influenced by a number of things. Environment, health, weather, etc. can all play a part. Living conditions for the pregnancy term and then after the birth of the baby carry a great deal of importance for the continued health of the child, as well as the parents’ medical history and the proper care for the newborn baby.

Given the facts of a study done from 2008 to 2010, most infant deaths in African American babies were caused by low birth weight or preterm births. A low birth weight can be caused by the mother not eating enough to sustain herself and the baby she is carrying, who needs to take in a certain amount daily in order to grow properly in the womb and then survive once he or she is born. A preterm birth can be caused by several things, either a health issue of the mother’s prevents her from carrying full term or an unforeseen incident calls for the child to be delivered via C-section in order to better save his or her life as well as the mother’s. Yet there is no guarantee with preterm births or medical cesareans that the baby will survive the trauma of the forced separation.

There are other incidents that lead to infant deaths, of which the African Americans can hold a higher percentage in than other racial groups. Accidents that no one could have predicted, complications with the umbilical cord, or maternal complications during the pregnancy have all claimed infant lives across the U.S. Some of these are due to the doctor or nurses not taking proper care during or after the birth, some of them happen and could not have been prevented in any scenario.

Therefore, African Americans hold a high percentage in infant mortality due to the health conditions that separate blacks from whites and other unforeseen incidents. Better medical assistance provided for the black mothers during the pregnancy and after the birth would go a long way in ensuring the lives of many infants. The risk of infant mortality will not be wholly demolished, but the more babies able to be saved the better for the families and communities of which they would have been a part of.