LSE Demography Seminars

Beyond Antibiotics: Obstetrical Interventions, Surgical Capacity, and the Persistence of Stillbirth Disparities

Speaker: Matthew Purcell (LSE, Department of Economic History)

Time: Wednesday (02/04/2025) from 15:00 to 16:00 (UK time)
Location: CON 1.01 (Connaught House, 1^st Floor) and on Zoom

Abstract: This paper looks at the obstetrical practices in a preeminent Black-serving Hospital to analyse how obstetrical care contributed to the persistent Black-white stillbirth disparity in the mid-20th century US South, despite a general decline in absolute stillbirth rates from 1930 to 1960. Adopting Løkke (2012)'s framework linking antibiotic availability to increased obstetrical interventions, particularly caesarean sections, I compare intervention rates within the hospital to other contemporary hospital's rates. I find a persistent preference for forceps over caesarean deliveries, contrary to what the Løkke model would predict. Moreover, the limited use of caesarean sections resulted in many high-risk births receiving no intervention. Counterfactual analysis suggests that aligning Lincoln Hospital's intervention rates with national averages could have prevented some stillbirths. Qualitative evidence indicates that discriminatory residency practices, rather than a lack of surgical skill, likely created capacity constraints, hindering the adoption of caesarean techniques by Black physicians. This study concludes that biomedical innovation alone cannot close disparity gaps when human capital is unevenly distributed by discriminatory practices.

To join our mailing list or enquire about presenting, please contact the organisers, Hampton Gaddy (h.g.gaddy@lse.ac.uk) and Midanna de Almada (m.de-almada@lse.ac.uk)

Past events

26/02/2025
Qi Cui (LSE, Department of Methodology)
"Quantifying the role of self-declared obstacles to unachieved fertility - proposing a new method"

29/01/2025
Johann Ohler (LSE, Department of Economic History)
"Build Back Better Health: Public Housing and the late-19th Century Mortality Transition"

28/11/2024
Manna Mostaghim (LSE, Department of Health Policy)
"'If you wanted a baby, you’d lose weight': A study of Fat Patients who sought in vitro fertilisation within NHS England"

17/10/2024
Nick Fitzhenry (LSE, Department of Economic History)
"Mortality in the Century of Apartheid, 1940-1970: Spatial and racial health inequalities during the antibiotic transition"

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