Among a large cohort of nulliparous and geographically diverse women with singleton gestations who self-reported psychosocial stress, non-Hispanic black women were most likely to experience preterm birth, hypertensive disease of pregnancy, and small-for-gestational age (SGA) birth. This according to a study that assessed the relationship between self-reported psychological stress and preterm birth, hypertensive disease of pregnancy, and SGA birth to determine the extent to which these relationships account for racial and ethnic disparities in these adverse outcomes. Researchers found:

• The study population included 9,470 women (60.4% non-Hispanic white, 13.8% non-Hispanic black, 16.7% Hispanic, 4.0% Asian, and 5.0% other).
• Non-Hispanic black women were significantly more likely to experience any preterm birth, hypertensive disease of pregnancy, and SGA birth than were non-Hispanic white women.
• Non-Hispanic black women continued to be at greater risk of any preterm birth and SGA birth after adjusting for confounding factors.