The latest health disparity affecting minority newborns

Minority newborns are the most likely to be seen in an emergency room. (Shutterstock)

“We don’t want anybody going to the emergency room, but particularly for a baby in the first month of life, they’re just very vulnerable,” said Henry Lee, MD, lead author of the study, in a statement.

Emergency rooms often host a number of ill individuals, and while some of those may be seeking care for physical injuries like broken bones, a percentage will be waiting to see the doctor because they are ill; some of the common illnesses seen in the ER?like the flu?are highly contagious and potentially deadly for a child under the age of 4 weeks.

Natural Standard explains that newborns receive protection from viruses and dangerous bacteria by way of antibodies passed to them from their mother. While this offers some protection against infection during the first several months post-birth, a child’s immune system is still weak and is not fully capable of fighting off pathogens. It isn’t until the third month that the body starts to produce its own antibodies, and a child’s immune system isn’t fully functioning until after 6 months post-birth. Exposing a newborn to a contagious environment is risky, even if some immunity is present from the mother.

Lee and his team indicate that sometimes infants do have to visit the emergency room, and in fact, the majority of cases evaluated for the study did warrant such immediate care. Some visits were seen as preventable, however, because they were conditions that could have been recognized earlier by a primary care physician who would evaluate a baby for common problems like jaundice.

“Pediatricians would also help to answer any questions that the parents may have, particularly for first-time parents,” Lee said, explaining that for many minority patients, a lack of a primary care doctor meant that infants often went without the standard one week post-birth pediatrician visit arranged by the hospital.

The study authors also indicated minority patients were historically less likely to afford medical care, often leading them to an emergency room rather than to a pediatrician. What couldn’t be explained was the dramatic difference in emergency room visits among minorities themselves; African-American infants were seen at almost double the rate compared to Hispanic infants despite African-Americans and Hispanics having the same influencing factors such as poverty and lack of health care coverage.

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“The reasons behind the observed differences in newborn visits are unclear,” said Antonio Riera, MD, an assistant professor of pediatric emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. “This is a great launching pad to start the conversation.”

Riera, who was not involved with the research, indicated the data provided a  means to “develop programs, services, education and prevention measures to help the newborns and their parents who are at greatest risk for emergency department visits at such a young and vulnerable age.”