Racial disparity in previable birth

There is a significant racial disparity in previable preterm births, with black mothers incurring a 3- to 6-fold increased relative risk compared with white mothers, most of which are spontaneous in nature. This may explain much of the racial disparity in infant mortality because all live-born previable preterm births result in death. Focused efforts on the prevention of spontaneous previable preterm birth may help to reduce the racial disparity in infant mortality.