Sample of Annotated Bibliography —— NRSE 3700J

Pruitt, S. M., Hoyert, D. L., Anderson, K. N., Martin, J., Waddell, L., Duke, C., Honein, M. A.,

& Reefhuis, J. (2020, September 18). Racial and ethnic disparities in fetal deaths —

United States, 2015-2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020, 69(37), 1277-1282.

The article provides a summary and an analysis of the data regarding fetal deaths in the United States between the years of 2015 and 2017. A fetal death is one that occurs at less than 20 weeks gestation. Fetal death report data in three populations were analyzed. The three populations were: (a) Black women, (b) White women, and (c) Hispanic women. There was an attempt to collect data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in those jurisdictions that more than 50% of the fetal death reports had a cause of death specified. Fetal mortality rates were collected nationally and by the mothers’ state of residence, race and Hispanic origin, age, and multiple-gestation pregnancy. The cause of fetal death was categorized into 45 ranked causes of death. During the time period studied the fetal mortality rate among Black women was more than twice the rate among White women and Hispanic women. The rate was higher for women younger than 20 years and older than 40 years than it was for women between the years of 20 and 39 years. The fetal mortality rate varied by US state with the rates generally higher in the southern US. Alabama reported the highest rate among White women while the rates in New Jersey, West Virginia, and Mississippi were the highest among Black women. The five most common causes of fetal death were reported.

The report was well written with several tables and figures illustrating the data. The authors cite a limitation of the data, namely that the cause of death is not consistently recorded even in those jurisdictions where the cause of fetal death is a required part of the data reporting. The article provides a good introduction to data about fetal death rates in the US and suggests other sources for a more in-depth study of fetal death rates.

It is disturbing to realize that this level of discrepancy among groups of women in the US exists. Too often we (US citizens) view ourselves as having the best health care in the world. We cannot justify that claim when there is this level of difference in fetal death rates among these three populations of women.