It has been well-known in research that Black babies are about twice as likely to die as White babies before their first birthday. Now, a new study suggests that that disparity is even larger when babies are conceived by in vitro fertilization or other forms of assisted reproductive technology.
The study, published [October 19] in the journal Pediatrics, found that when they are conceived naturally, neonatal mortality is two-fold higher among Black infants than Whites. But when conceived by assisted reproductive technology, neonatal mortality was more than four-fold higher among babies of Black women.
The researchers were interested in what that disparity in infant mortality would look like “in a group of women that would be relatively affluent,” said Dr. Sarka Lisonkova, an author of the study and associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Children’s and Women’s Hospital of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Socioeconomic differences appear to remain among women undergoing infertility treatments, which could be driving these disparities, Lisonkova said.
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“It seems that there are still socioeconomic disparities, even in this particular group of relatively more affluent and educated women who usually tend to go through the fertility treatments,” she said. “So there could still be residual confounding by socioeconomic status. The other thing is that there might be differential access to health services, particular in this case of obstetric and maternity care services, and neonatal health services.”
