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Preterm birth is a major cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality, and black women have increased risk for preterm delivery, independent of other recognized risk factors. Researchers used the Missouri Department of Health 1989–1997 database (527,845 singleton births) to examine the association between paternal race and preterm birth.
Birth outcomes were analyzed in four categories: white mother and father (W/W), white mother and black father (W/B), black mother and white father (B/W), and black mother and father (B/B). The overall prevalence of preterm births (20–35 weeks gestation) was 3.3%. Preterm birth rates were 3.0% for W/W parents, 4.4% for W/B parents, 6.5% for B/W parents, and 7.0% for B/B parents. In analyses adjusted for factors…