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A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Discrimination during childbirth and postpartum care utilization among Black birthing people in California, United
Kortney Floyd James1, Megan Hicks2, Kristen R Choi3,4
1National Clinician Scholars Program, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Background:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between discrimination during childbirth hospitalization and postpartum care utilization among Black birthing people in California, United States.
Methods:
This was a secondary analysis of data from the Listening to Mothers in California survey, a population-based survey of individuals with a singleton hospital-based birth in California in 2016. The primary outcome was number of postpartum care visits. The primary exposures were racial, language, and insurance discrimination. A multiple linear regression model was used to estimate associations between discrimination and postpartum care use, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates.
Results:
Black birthing people in the sample had an average of two postpartum visits. Almost 15% of the sample reported one or more forms of discrimination during hospital-based childbirth. In adjusted models, racial discrimination (β = 0.09, 95% CI = 0.04-0.14, p < 0.01) and language discrimination (β = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.98-1.07, p < 0.01) were associated with increased postpartum visits, while insurance discrimination was linked to decreased postpartum visits (β = -0.96, 95% CI = -1.04 to -0.89, p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Among Black birthing people in California, the drivers of postpartum care utilization after childbirth are complex. There are multiple negative drivers (e.g., experiencing racial and language discrimination and unmet needs), barriers (e.g., insurance discrimination), and positive drivers (e.g., clinician type and education) that affect postpartum care utilization among Black birthing people.
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