Racial disparities in infant mortality: A quality of care perspective

Abstract

Black infants in the United States are more than twice as likely to die as White infants in the first year of life. Reducing the existing racial disparity in infant mortality rates is a major health policy focus. Despite decades of research aimed at reducing preterm births, our efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Much greater success has been achieved in reducing the morbidity and mortality of premature infants, largely through improvements in obstetrical and neonatal care. However, it is an open question whether such improvements have reduced racial disparities in infant mortality. In this article, we recommend a new framework for addressing infant mortality disparities. We suggest that a quality of care problem may partially underlie racial disparities in infant mortality rates. © 2008 Mount Sinai School of Medicine.