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WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) – New research shows black women have the highest risk of life-threatening birth complications.
Researchers at the University of Michigan reported that black women had a 70% higher rate of birth problems than whites.
"Personalities like Serena Williams, who have publicly told of their birth emergencies, have drawn national attention to the urgent need to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the care of women at the present time. delivery, "said lead author of the study, Lindsay Admon. She said studies like this are needed to drive and target these changes.
The researchers also discovered that health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, depression or substance abuse, greatly increased the chances of serious problems after childbirth.
"Women of color who have multiple health problems before the birth of their baby seem to feel a double effect," said Admon, an obstetrician from the Michigan Medicine Women's Hospital in Ann Arbor.
She added that this "should force us to think about how to structure care to better serve these vulnerable women, not only during pregnancy, but also before and after childbirth".
Every year, tens of thousands of American women suffer from serious complications that require emergency treatment to save their lives during or immediately after childbirth.
For the new study, researchers analyzed data from more than 2.5 million birth-related hospitalizations nationwide between 2012 and 2015.
The analysis showed that 1.6% (nearly 41,000) of the women participating in the study had undergone an emergency procedure or had been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
The investigators found that black and Hispanic women had higher rates of serious birth-related health problems than whites, even though they did not have any other health problem.
Among black women, 231 out of 10,000 births were a serious problem, compared to 139 out of 10,000 among white women, according to the report.
The study focused on the following issues: blood transfusion; disorders of blood clotting; cardiac arrest; hysterectomy during or after childbirth; acute lung problems; renal failure; eclampsia (seizures caused by high blood pressure); shock; and sepsis.
Blood transfusion – most often for severe bleeding – was the most common problem, occurring in three quarters of cases and accounting for most of the racial disparity, the researchers said.
"Together, our findings shed light on women of color as a high-risk population for each of the issues examined," Admon said in a press release issued by a university.
The study was published October 10 in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
More information
The US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has more about birth complications.
SOURCE: University of Michigan, press release of October 10, 2018
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