This New Study Found That United States-Born Black Women Are More Likely To Suffer From Preeclampsia, Which Can Be Fatal For Moms And Their Babies

Garima Sharma, the director of cardio-obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, suggested U.S. norms could be to blame.

She said, “Immigrations come here to seek a better life, but what we are seeing is unhealthy acculturation and assimilation.”

Sharma suggested that by adopting popular cultural habits of the United States, these women became unhealthier over time.

Although, the analysis did have its own limitations. In this study, the researchers did not analyze racism’s impact on healthcare and patient outcome– which could account for at least a portion of this disparity.

Nonetheless, Sharma believes that more research is a necessity in order to understand the intersection of biological and psychosocial factors on pregnancy.

“For years, it’s been said that being a Black woman is a risk factor for preeclampsia,” Sharma said.

“But we need to move beyond putting all the implications on a particular race without accounting for why that is. In this study, it is clear that Black women born outside the U.S. are less likely to have preeclampsia until they have been here for some time.”

To read the complete scientific analysis, visit the link here.