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Each year nearly half a million u-s babies are born premature. The smallest of them, preemies born weighing less than two-point-two pounds, often have a rocky start to life and can face a host of health problems later on.
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New University of Florida research reveals gender and race play a big role in whether low-birth-weight babies survive. U-F doctors looked at medical records for more than five-thousand extremely low-birth-weight babies born in florida between 1996 and 2000. Researchers discovered that black girls were more than twice as likely as white boys to survive their first year. Overall, girls, white or black, also fared better than boys--- girls were nearly twice as likely to live. Prior research has shown that black women tend to have more premature babies than women of other races, possibly because their babies develop faster. This might explain why black babies have a better shot at survival.
Dr. Steven Morse / UF neonatologist
“Not all babies are the same, especially with regard to survival at this early gestational age. There are differences based on race and gender, so we can’t group all of these babies together and say survival at less than a thousand grams is X-percent.”
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While many doctors have observed this phenomenon in their own practices, the U-F study offers the first scientific evidence linking race and gender to survival for the smallest of infants.
U-F experts say the findings could prove essential for some expectant mothers. By taking baby’s gender and race profiles into account, doctors could more accurately advise anxious mothers who are in preterm labor about what to expect. The information also might help them decide whether to pursue aggressive treatments for these infants, who risk dying or developing disabling health problems.
Dr. Steven Morse / UF neonatologist
“One of the first questions they have for me is “Is my baby going to survive?’ and that’s why it’s very important to have this sort of info, and it has to be as specific as you can get for the parents because they have to be able to make some very difficult decisions with our help with that information.”
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At the University of Florida Health Science Center, I’m Mike Garrison
