The association between the end of court-ordered school desegregation and preterm births among Black women.

Menghan Shen,Kelli K Ryckman

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201372

Abstract

Racial segregation, and in particular school segregation, likely plays an important role in affecting health outcomes. To examine this connection, this paper explores the relationship between the end of court-ordered school desegregation and preterm births among Blacks using birth certificate information between 1992 and 2002 (n = 183,178). The end of court-ordered oversight has important implications for the level of racial segregation in schools: If residential segregation remains high, neighborhood-based student assignment plans would naturally increase school segregation. A rise in school segregation may lead to worse educational, labor, and health outcomes among Blacks. Using multiple difference-in-differences framework that exploits variation in exposure to schools that declared unitary status, it finds that school districts’ release from court oversight is associated with a 0.8 percentage point increase in preterm births among Black mothers. This paper contributes to literature that finds that the end of court-ordered school desegregation in the 1990s have negative implications for Blacks. More research should be conducted to understand the causal relationship between school segregation and infant health.

Highlights

Preterm births are defined as those that occur at less than 37 weeks of gestational age
This paper examines the relationship between the end of court-ordered school desegregation in the 1990s and preterm births
The results indicate that release from court oversight is associated with a 0.7 percentage point increase in preterm births

Summary

Introduction

Preterm births are defined as those that occur at less than 37 weeks of gestational age. In 2002, the preterm birth rate among Black women in the United States was 17.6%. The prevalence of preterm births constitute an alarming public health problem. Infants born preterm are at greater risk for a variety of health problems, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and other major disabilities; they are more likely to have learning difficulties and suffer from behavioral and psychological problems. Preterm birth is associated with lower educational attainment, lower income, and a greater likelihood of receiving Social Security benefits [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Outcomes for Black women are more likely to be influenced by these factors, they do not fully

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Conclusion