Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether racial disparities persisted among physicians giving birth, to equalize individual sociodemographic factors. METHODS: Singleton live births among California physicians between 2012 and 2019 were linked to pregnancy and delivery hospitalization records. Physicians were identified using standardized occupational codes from birth records. Adjusted risk differences (aRDs) by self-reported race and ethnicity were calculated. RESULTS: Overall, 14,878 physicians in California had live births. Compared with non-Hispanic White physicians, Asian physicians had an increased risk of gestational diabetes (aRD 0.08, 95% CI, 0.05-0.11) and of having neonates with small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth weight (aRD 0.05, 95% CI, 0.04-0.07). Non-Hispanic Black physicians had an increased risk of having neonates with SGA birth weight (aRD 0.05, 95% CI, 0.02-0.09) and of preterm birth (aRD 0.07, 95% CI, 0.01-0.13), and physicians who identified as additional races/unknown (two or more races, other, or not stated or unknown race) had an increased risk of preeclampsia (aRD 0.07, 95% CI, 0.01-0.12). CONCLUSION: Racial and ethnic disparities persisted for select perinatal outcomes among California physicians. These results highlight the need to directly assess system-level factors that contribute to these disparities.