A study published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that infants are racially segregated across neonatal intensive care units.
Researchers examined 743 NICUs in the Vermont Oxford Network, which included 117,982 low birth weight and preterm infants from January 2014 to December 2016. Of the total number of infants, 31 percent were black, 18 percent were Hispanic, 5 percent Asian and 46 percent were white.
They found the infants were segregated among the NICUs by race and ethnicity. Black infants were concentrated at NICUs with lower quality scores as compared to white infants. Hispanic and Asian infants were concentrated at NICUs with higher quality scores as compared to their white counterparts.
"Explaining these patterns will require understanding the effects of sociodemographic factors and public policies on hospital quality, access, and choice for minority women and their infants," study authors concluded.