ReviewPsychological bulletin2005
Explaining disproportionately high rates of adverse birth outcomes among African Americans: the impact of stress, racism, and related factors in pregnancy.
Review in Psychological bulletin, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 183 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
183 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 376 citations in OpenAlex.
- Examining the Impact of the Syndemic on Black Birthing Individuals in the USA: a Systematic Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the role of neighborhood deprivation in psychotic disorders.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- Pathways Through Early Psychosis Care for U.S. Youths From Ethnically and Racially Minoritized Groups: A Systematic Review.Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · 2023Pooled it
- Psychological Resilience, Cardiovascular Disease, and Metabolic Disturbances: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- The Association between Maternal Experiences of Interpersonal Discrimination and Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Systematic Review of the Evidence.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Systematic Review of Chronic Discrimination and Changes in Biology During Pregnancy Among African American Women.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2019Pooled it
- The social determinants of infant mortality and birth outcomes in Western developed nations: a cross-country systematic review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2013Pooled it
- Enhancing breastfeeding rates among African American women: a systematic review of current psychosocial interventions.Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding MedicinePooled it
- The effect of prenatal docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on infant outcomes in African American women living in low-income environments: A randomized, controlled trial.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2016Trial
- Association between fatty acid supplementation and prenatal stress in African Americans: a randomized controlled trial.Obstetrics and gynecology · 2014Trial
- Shifting the Paradigm: Addressing Maternal Health Disparities Through Transformational Community Engagement.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Abortion Policy as Structural Sexism: An Analysis of Shame-Inducing Counseling Laws and Birth Outcomes.Journal of health and social behavior · 2026Article
- The Role of Maternal Depression in Racial Disparities and Birth Weight.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Structural Racism, Geographies of Opportunity, and Maternal Health Inequities: A Dynamic Conceptual Framework.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- "It's Harder to Chase Pain Than It Is to Prevent It": Perinatal Individual and Care Professional Attitudes Towards Preventing Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Obstetric Settings.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2026Article
- "And in some cases, we're the best option:" A qualitative study of community-based doula support for black perinatal mental health.American journal of community psychology · 2026Article
- Measures of Structural Racism and Black-White Disparity in Stillbirth Rates in New York City, 2009-2018: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Article
- Converging crises and maternal and child health: colonialism, extreme weather, and COVID-19.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Stress reactivity and maternal health (STRIVE): protocol for a multisite observational cohort study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Latinas and Maternal and Child Health: Research, Policy, and Representation.Maternal and child health journal · 2025Review
123 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Compared with European Americans, African American infants experience disproportionately high rates of low birth weight and preterm delivery and are more than twice as likely to die during their 1st year of life. The authors examine 5 explanations for these differences in rates of adverse birth outcomes: (a) ethnic differences in health behaviors and socioeconomic status; (b) higher levels of stress in African American women; (c) greater susceptibility to stress in African Americans; (d) the impact of racism acting either as a contributor to stress or as a factor that exacerbates stress effects; and (e) ethnic differences in stress-related neuroendocrine, vascular, and immunological processes. The review of literature indicates that each explanation has some merit, although none is sufficient to explain ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes. There is a lack of studies examining the impact of such factors jointly and interactively. Recommendations and cautions for future research are offered.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.