Original Contribution Neighborhood Deprivation and Preterm Birth among Non-Hispanic Black and White Women in Eight Geographic Areas in the United States

Disparities in preterm birth by race and ethnic group have been demonstrated in the UnitedStates. Recent research has focused on the impact of neighborhood context on racial disparities in pregnancy outcomes. The authors utilized vital-record birth certificate data and USCensus data from eight geographic areas in four states (Maryland, Michigan, NorthCarolina, andPennsylvania) toexamine the relation betweenneighborhooddeprivation andpretermbirthamong non-Hispanic White and Black women. The years covered by the data varied by site and ranged from 1995 to 2001. Results were adjusted for maternal age and education, and specific attention was paid to racial and geographic differences in the relation between neighborhood deprivation and preterm birth. Preterm birth rates were higher for non-Hispanic Blacks (10.42–15.97%) than for non-Hispanic Whites (5.77–9.13%), and neighborhood deprivation in