A new study has found that black newborns in the U.S. are three times more likely to die when treated by white doctors. According to USA Today, research that was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that Black newborn babies are more likely to survive childbirth if they are cared for by Black doctors.
Researchers from George Mason University looked at data capturing 1.8 million hospital births in Florida between 1992 and 2015 and they found that the mortality rate of Black newborns shrunk by between 39% and 58% when Black physicians oversaw the birth. Data showed that white newborns were largely unaffected by the physicians race.
The authors wrote, “Strikingly, these effects appear to manifest more strongly in more complicated cases, and when hospitals deliver more Black newborns. The findings suggest that Black physicians outperform their White colleagues when caring for Black newborns.””
The researchers added, “Reducing racial disparities in newborn mortality will also require raising awareness among physicians, nurses, and hospital administrators about the prevalence of racial and ethnic disparities."