Examining Associations Between Race, Birth Characteristics, and NICU Stay Duration: A Study from the 5000 Baby Project

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2025-08

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

The Ohio State University

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Journal Issue

Abstract

Preterm birth, sometimes called premature birth, is the leading cause of both infant mortality and morbidity. In the United States, Black/African American (AA) infants are nearly 50% more likely to be born preterm than their White/Caucasian peers and have a lower birth weight. This often causes prolonged stays in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and delayed progression of developmental milestones. We hypothesized that there would be a correlation between race/ethnicity and specific birth-related factors, namely, (1) birth weight, (2) NICU stay duration, (3) birth type, (4) milestone status, and (5) preterm status. Our results showed statistically significant correlations between race/ethnicity in both birth weight and preterm status. Additionally, there was a nearly statistically significant correlation found with NICU stay duration. Both birth type (cesarean vs vaginal) and developmental milestone status (delayed vs on-time) were not significantly correlated in our dataset. Our results support the conclusion that racial disparities exist in key perinatal outcomes such as preterm birth and birth weight. Further investigation is necessary to inform future targeted interventions to support the at-risk populations and reduce inequities in infant health outcomes.

Description

Keywords

Health disparities, race/ethnicity, birth outcomes, low birth weight, neonatal health, public health, epidemiology

Citation