Premature Birth Rates (<37 weeks) by Mother's Race/Ethnicity

Premature birth rates vary not only by location within Monroe County, but also by race and ethnicity. Across Monroe County, the African-American and Latina premature birth rates are significantly higher than for whites. It is striking that while the rates are generally lower in the suburbs, for African-American women, the suburban rate is the same as the white rate in the Focus Area* of the city. It is also notable that the extent of these disparities is even larger when looking at the parallel analysis of very premature birth (< 32 weeks) rates.

* The Focus Area consists of eight high-poverty ZIP codes in the city of Rochester with particularly high concentration of African-Americans and Latinos. See a map of the Focus Area here.