Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Aug 13.
doi: 10.1007/s40615-025-02599-z. Online ahead of print.

Examining the Role of Race in Maternal Morbidities and Adverse Infant Birth Outcomes in Florida (2004 to 2022) - A Retrospective Exploratory Analysis

Alexa Parra  1 , Raymond Balise  2 , Vanessa Morales  2 , Cynthia N Lebron  3 , Yue Pan  2 , JoNell Potter  2 , Hudson P Santos Jr  3
Affiliations

Examining the Role of Race in Maternal Morbidities and Adverse Infant Birth Outcomes in Florida (2004 to 2022) - A Retrospective Exploratory Analysis

Alexa Parra et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. .

Abstract

Background: Studies reporting maternal morbidities and adverse infant outcomes group Hispanics together without considering the implications of racial identity, particularly among Black Hispanics in the United States.

Objective: This study aims to examine maternal morbidity and adverse infant birth outcomes across racially and ethnically diverse groups in Florida (from 2004-2022), with particular attention to the heterogeneity within the Hispanic population.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective secondary analysis of Florida birth certificate data from 2004 to 2022 (N = 3,364,973), examining maternal morbidity (hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, gestational diabetes) and adverse infant outcomes (preterm birth, small or large for gestational age). Outcomes were stratified by race and ethnicity. Logistic regression models were employed to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios while controlling for key sociodemographic covariates.

Results: Black Hispanic mothers had higher odds of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, but no significant difference in gestational diabetes after considering the independent impact of race and ethnicity. Their infants had lower odds of preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age, and higher odds of large-for-gestational-age after considering the independent impact of race and ethnicity. Compared to other groups, Black Hispanics had the lowest rates of private insurance, educational attainment, and prenatal care adequacy, highlighting sociodemographic disparities alongside clinical outcomes.

Conclusion: Our findings highlight nuanced disparities in maternal and infant outcomes for Black Hispanics. Further investigation is essential to understand why maternal health outcomes for Black Hispanics align more closely with their Black counterparts, while infant outcomes diverge, emphasizing the need for disaggregated analyses within the Hispanic population.

Keywords: Adverse infant outcomes; Afro-latina; Black hispanic; Hispanic; Maternal and child health; Maternal and infant health; Maternal morbidity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: Approved by the Florida Department of Health’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: The authors all consent to the publication of this manuscript. Conflicts of interest: The authors contributed to this manuscript and have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Agrawal P. Maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States of America. Bull World Health Organ. 2015;93(3):135. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.14.148627 . - DOI
    1. Cerf ME. Maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases and metabolites. Metabolites. 2023;13(6):756. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13060756 . - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Post W, Thomas A, Sutton KM. ‘Black women should not die giving life’: the lived experiences of black women diagnosed with severe maternal morbidity in the United States. Birth Berkeley Calif. 2025;52(1):36–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12820 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hill L, Rao A, Artiga S, UR. Published, “Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them,” KFF. Accessed: Apr. 20, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-d...
    1. Njoku A, Evans M, Nimo-Sefah L, Bailey J. Listen to the whispers before they become screams: addressing Black maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Healthcare. 2023;11(3):438. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11030438 . - DOI - PubMed - PMC