Study: Hispanic, Black Newborns More Likely than Whites to be Seen in ER

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Minority newborns are the most likely to be seen in an emergency room (ER), according to a new Stanford University study, Saludify reports.

About 7.6 of all newborns visit the ER in their first four weeks.

But 14.4% of African-Americans babies and 7.7% of Hispanic babies visited the ER in their first month of life, compared with 6.7% of white babies, the study showed.

Researchers indicate socioeconomic standing and access to health care services are likely the predominant factors causing this health disparity, Health Canal reported:

The number of emergency visits may be tied to economic difficulties and lack of access to medical care outside of the ER. Black and Hispanic babies are more likely to be born into low-income families than white babies, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and poorer families often have a hard time getting to check-ups and paying for medical care…

…Sometimes babies have to visit the emergency department — for instance, if they have an infection or an inherited disorder that was not obvious at birth.

In Lee’s study, almost two-thirds of the emergency department visits were for issues that likely required emergency care. But some visits are preventable, such as when a baby has a problem that was missed by providers at the hospital or when the parents take their baby to an emergency department instead of to a clinic for well-baby checkups.

A pediatrician should examine all babies within the first week of life to assess whether they are growing and developing normally.

“Ideally, when a baby leaves the hospital after birth, there is a first visit with the clinic pediatrician already scheduled,” said Lee, according to Health Canal.