The significance of skin color of a newborn infant.

The concern for the health, development, and well-being of infants and children is one shared by pediatricians and child psychiatrists. At times, parents present issues to either one specialist or the other that need to be shared to meet the goal of fostering physical and psychological health in children. One of the seldom shared issues is the meaning of the skin color of a newborn in a minority (black) or interracial (black-white) family and the implications for the nonminority pediatrician. Through a description and discussion of four clinical cases, we delineate the parental, familial, and societal issues involved and suggest interventions.