THURSDAY, Aug. 8, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The dual burden of preterm birth and severe maternal morbidity (SMM) has a rate of 37 per 10,000 births in California, according to a study published online July 17 in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine.
Audrey Lyndon, R.N., Ph.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues describe the prevalence and correlates of the dual burden of SMM and preterm birth in a retrospective cohort study involving all California live births in 2007 to 2012 with gestations of 20 to 44 weeks.
The researchers found that preterm birth was experienced by one-quarter of women with SMM, for a dual burden rate of 37 per 10,000 births. The risk of dual burden was increased with cesarean birth (adjusted relative risks [aRRs], 3.3, 8.1, and 3.9 for primiparous primary, multiparous primary, and repeat, respectively). Risk was increased more than sixfold with multiple gestation (aRR, 6.3). Significantly higher dual burden risk was seen for women with preeclampsia superimposed on gestational hypertension or preexisting hypertension (aRRs, 7.3 and 11.1, respectively). Smoking during pregnancy, preexisting hypertension without preeclampsia, preexisting diabetes, black race/ethnicity, and prepregnancy body mass index <18.5 kg/m² were significant independent predictors for dual burden (aRRs, 1.5, 3.3, 2.6, 2.0, and 1.4, respectively).
“Additional research is warranted to further elucidate the drivers of dual burden as well as to understand the unique needs of families experiencing dual burden and identify effective interventions,” the authors write.
Copyright © 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved.