Black babies born in rural areas of the US are three times more likely to die at birth than city-born white infants, a new CDC report shows.
The data published today reveal the drastic differences between a white baby’s chances of survival and a black or Hispanic baby’s chances.
It also highlights the fact that healthcare establishments in rural areas are less advanced than those in America’s largest cities.
The report draws attention to the fact that minorities do not receive the same healthcare benefits as white people in the US and it emphasizes the dangers of living far from top medical professionals who are located in US cities.
Black babies born in rural communities are three times as likely to die as white babies born in urban communities, new data from the CDC has revealed (Source: CDC)
The CDC report’s data is from 2014 and it breaks down infant mortality rates from that year based on race, mother’s age and the population of the area a baby is born in.
The infant mortality rate for babies in large rural counties was 20 percent higher than that for babies born in urban counties.
Similarly, it was six percent higher than that for babies born in small or medium urban counties.
The mortality rate was higher in rural counties for both neonatal babies, who are between zero and 27 days old, and postneonatal babies, who are aged 28 to 364 days old.
But the difference in the mortality rates for postneonatal babies in the two categories was shocking: it was 49 percent higher in rural counties than it was in urban counties.
The report detailed the infant mortality rates for babies born to mothers in the following age groups: under 20 years old, 20 to 29 years old, 30 to 39 years old and 40 years old or older.
Following the general trend, the mortality rates for babies born to mothers in each age group were higher in rural areas than they were in urban areas.
The most dramatic difference can be seen between the 40 years old or older groups in different geographical areas: the infant mortality rate among babies born to mothers 40 or older in rural areas was 54 percent higher than that of babies born in urban areas with mothers the same age.
The mortality rates for Hispanic and white babies born in rural areas were within one percentage point of each other.
But the death rate for black babies born in these same areas shot up drastically.
The rate for black babies born in rural communities was 12.8 while the rates for white and Hispanic babies were 5.95 and 5.32, respectively.
The study concluded that white babies in urban areas have the greatest chances of survival, while black babies, babies born in rural areas and babies born to mothers 40 years old or older have chances that are significantly lower.
The CDC said the study’s conclusions represent trends that have already been documented.
The report said: ‘The findings in this report are consistent with previous research and present new data indicating that small and medium urban county infant mortality rates generally fall between the rates of rural and large urban counties.
‘These findings suggest a general disadvantage in infant survival for rural counties and among certain groups compared with more urbanized areas.’