Neighborhood Incarceration Rates and Adverse Birth Outcomes in New York City, 2010-2014

Abstract

The US has high infant mortality rates, ranking 34 of 38 among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations in 2019.¹ Infant mortality is most commonly associated with preterm birth and low birth weight,² with earlier preterm and lower weight newborns having higher risk of death.^3-5 Rates of infant mortality have substantial disparities by race and socioeconomic status, with Black and low-income people most likely to have adverse birth outcomes.^6-9 These disparities are associated with both individual-level socioeconomic factors and structural determinants of health that function at a neighborhood and societal level.^8,10-15 A recent consensus statement on racial disparities on preterm birth highlighted stress and neighborhood disadvantage as likely factors.¹⁰