DiscoverParentData with Emily OsterRacial Disparity in C-Section Rates: Unpacking bias in the medical system
Racial Disparity in C-Section Rates: Unpacking bias in the medical system

Racial Disparity in C-Section Rates: Unpacking bias in the medical system

Update: 2024-11-07
Share

Description

When we talk about C-sections, it’s often prefaced with “unplanned” or “emergency.” About a third of all the deliveries in the U.S. are cesarean sections, and only about 16% of those are planned. And that leaves a lot of mothers in a position where they’re delivering differently than they planned or intended to. And in the U.S., a disproportionate number of those are being performed on black women. So how are we going to get to the root of what's going on? 

Today on ParentData, we're joined by Molly Schnell, whose paper “Drivers of Racial Differences in C-Sections” explores this phenomenon. Molly is an assistant professor of economics at Northwestern University and her paper found that black mothers with unscheduled deliveries are 25% more likely to deliver by C-section than white mothers. And she argues that implicit racial bias among providers or possibly even a financial incentive in hospitals to fill their operating rooms may play a role in this racial gap.

Subscribe to ParentData.org for free access to new articles every week on data-driven pregnancy and parenting.

ParentData is generously supported by Honeycomb.

Comments 
loading
00:00
00:00
1.0x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Racial Disparity in C-Section Rates: Unpacking bias in the medical system

Racial Disparity in C-Section Rates: Unpacking bias in the medical system

ParentData