Despite improvements, black infants born preterm still face health care gaps

New research suggests that the overall gap in mortality rates has reduced between black and Hispanic infants when compared to white infants, although there is still room for improvement. Scientists looked at nearly 220,000 infants born at between 22 and 29 weeks of gestation, and found that the gap in mortality rates between black and Hispanic infants and white infants has decreased between 2006 and 2017. The use of certain steroids — which can help improve the survival of babies — in pregnant mothers who are expected to give birth to babies preterm increased across all groups, although the rate was highest in white mothers. The study’s findings point to the fact that gaps still remain, a trend that care providers should pay attention to, the researchers write.