Study finds racism may harm pregnant women of color and cause low birth weight in newborns
From MadameNoire.com: A new study shows that the negative effects of discrimination and racism can last a lifetime, beginning when a child is still in the womb[.]
The study, published online in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, [shared] findings by Valerie Earnshaw and her colleagues from Yale University. Their findings, after interviewing more than 1,000 black and Latina girls and women between the ages of 14 and 21, suggest that chronic, everyday instances of discrimination against pregnant, urban women of color may play a significant role in contributing to low birth weight babies. Medical News Today says low birth weight can result in fetal and prenatal morbidity, suppressed growth and slower cognitive development and chronic diseases later in the baby’s life:
[…] The study also suggests one possible explanation for the harm discrimination might do to a developing fetus. Women who experienced more discrimination were also more likely to be depressed, and depression — both in this study and in previous research — has been found to be associated with low birth weight.
Read the rest of this story on MadameNoire.com.
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