American journal of preventive medicine
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Comparative Study
Racial disparities in pregnancy outcomes: the role of prenatal care utilization and maternal risk status.
Distinct black-white differences in pregnancy outcome and prenatal care utilization have been a persistent feature of U. S. natality-related statistics. ⋯ Distinct racial differences in birth weight and gestational age distributions were observed within equivalent maternal risk and prenatal care categories, with whites having an approximately 200-gram mean birth weight and five-day mean gestational age advantage compared to blacks. In this analysis of more than 650,000 cases, low-risk blacks adequately utilizing prenatal care had a lower mean birth weight (3,266 grams) and a higher neonatal mortality rate (6.6) than low-risk, inadequate-care whites (3,302 grams; 6.1).