Disparity persists in Massachusetts Black infant mortality: Rate 3 times higher than whites, state says

Black infants in Massachusetts die at a rate three times higher than white babies, according to a state report issued yesterday, the latest evidence of a persistent healthcare divide that is eliciting increased attention from lawmakers and public health specialists. A tinderbox of poverty, racism, and chronic disease fuels the gap in infant mortality rates, a health measure long regarded as a bellwether of a nation's commitment to social well-being, maternal health specialists said yesterday. In 2003, the year covered in the report presented by the state Department of Public Health, 4.1 of every 1,000 white, non-Hispanic infants born in Massachusetts died before reaching their first birthday compared with 12.7 of every 1,000 black, non-Hispanic infants. The comparable figure for Hispanic infants was 5.6, and for Asian babies 2.7. The infant mortality rate for black infants in 2003 was similar to that for white babies in the state three decades ago. [more]