Pregnant Black woman || Image credit: Climate and Capital media
A startling new study has uncovered a disturbing trend in New Jersey’s healthcare system—Black mothers are disproportionately receiving unnecessary cesarean sections (C-sections), which increases their risk for severe complications.
The finding is the conclusion of a new report on nearly one million births in 68 hospitals in New Jersey, one of the largest studies to date on the subject.
Even when Black and white patients had the same doctor and similar medical histories, Black women were 20% more likely than white women to undergo a C-section.
“Black women … are being treated differently based on factors like race,” said Adriana Corridor Waldron, research professor at NC State University.
Waldron continued, “So this is not explained by medical risk factors, it’s not explained by socioeconomic or things related with the socioeconomic status, but based on their race.”
Adriana Corridor Waldron is one of the lead researchers on the new report, which examined nearly 1 million births in 68 hospitals in New Jersey.