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Why Do Black Women Experience Higher Rates of Preterm Birth?

  • Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology (R Platt, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of the Review

The goal of this review is to describe how a woman’s exposures and experiences lead to Black-white disparities in preterm.

Recent Findings

Studies in the last 10 years have increased knowledge in areas that may explain disparities, in particular social factors such as racism and stress, as well as how social factors at the neighborhood level may intersect with those at the individual level. The biologic pathways linking the social environment to disparities in preterm birth is also becoming better understood. Study designs and measures may need to adapt to effectively study disparities.

Summary

While there is much greater appreciation for the potential importance of the social environment across the life course, more research is needed on methods to best study these factors, particularly in measurement, as well as pathways linking these factors to preterm birth in Black women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Health Equity, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences School of Medicine, Wayne State University, 6135 Woodward Avenue, Room 1119, Detroit, MI,, 48202, USA

    Dawn P. Misra

  2. College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 1505 Race Street, Bellet Building 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA

    Jaime Slaughter-Acey

  3. College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Cohn Building, Room 368, 5557 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Carmen Giurgescu

  4. Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, 830 E. Main Street, 8th Floor, Room 825, PO Box 980212, Richmond, VA, 23298-0212, USA

    Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson

  5. College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Cohn Building, 5557 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Alexandra Nowak

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  1. Dawn P. Misra
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Correspondence to Dawn P. Misra.

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Dawn P. Misra, Jaime Slaughter-Acey, Carmen Giurgescu, and Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Alexandra Nowak reports other from Wayne State University, outside the submitted work.

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Misra, D.P., Slaughter-Acey, J., Giurgescu, C. et al. Why Do Black Women Experience Higher Rates of Preterm Birth?. Curr Epidemiol Rep 4, 83–97 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-017-0102-3

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