The socioeconomic gap between American residents has been a topic for a continuous discussion in terms of discrimination, access to the job market, and overall financial opportunities. However, the biggest discrepancy in the US context is the issue of limited healthcare based on ethnic and racial affiliation. Thus, according to the statistics, the vast majority of the uninsured and underinsured population is Black and Hispanic population, especially concerning immigrants (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2020). The major reason behind the issue lies in limited access to the labor market and education, which leads to the financial inability to cover the insurance. As a result, many Black and Hispanic residents have a higher exposure to the development of various health conditions.
One of the primary examples of such discrepancies is the study findings indicating a considerably higher rate of premature delivery and infant deaths among Black women. According to the study conducted by two American neonatologists, such an issue could be justified by systematic racism women undergo throughout their lives, both prior to and during pregnancy (California Newsreel, 2008). The initial hypotheses of the investigation were connected either with healthcare inequality or with the presence of a certain gene responsible for bearing a healthy child. However, both of these assumptions were not exhaustive enough, placing the stress level in the first position. Thus, when Black and Hispanic women feel stressed most of the time, the level of stress hormones rapidly increases, leading to premature deliveries that cause health issues, including predisposition for chronic and cardiovascular diseases and fatal outcomes. Taking everything into consideration, it might be concluded that once the issue of unequal access to healthcare is resolved within the state, the rate of premature delivery and infant death will eventually decrease.
References
California Newsreel. (2008). When the Bough Breaks [Video file]. Web.
Teitelbaum, J. B., & Wilensky, S. E. (2020). Essentials of health policy and law (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers.