The risk for death in abused babies goes up when the babies do not have private health insurance.

A new study reveals that abused babies are four times more likely to die when they don’t have private health insurance. Also, abused infants from impoverished families are 3.5 times more likely to die compared to infants from affluent families. The researchers are not sure why the results are showing this healthcare disparity. It is unclear if it is because the babies are not as healthy or lacked prenatal care.     

Dr. Richard Falcone, associate director of trauma services at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, says that abused children less than one year old have a high mortality rate, especially those babies that are from low-income families without private health insurance.  

Dr. Carole Jenny says the diagnosis of child abuse should be blinded to race, family composition and socioeconomic status. Dr. Jenny says in an earlier study that serious head injuries in abused white children from intact families were more likely missed by physicians. These findings indicate that abused white children are more at risk for further abuse.