HomeWomen with disabilities like taste/smell have higher risk of birth complications, death...

Women with disabilities like taste/smell have higher risk of birth complications, death – NIH study shows

Published on

Women with disabilities such as sensory (affecting sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell), intellectual or physical (affecting mobility, physical capacity or dexterity) have higher risk of birth complications and death.

A study by the National Institutes of Health found that pregnant women with disabilities have a much higher risk of having severe pregnancy and birth-related complications and dying than other pregnant women.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, looked at more than 223,000 deliveries in 19 U.S. hospitals and discovered that 2,199 women had a disability.

“Additional research is needed to understand the reasons for this increased risk and to develop needed interventions to reduce it,” says Jessica L. Gleason, lead author.

Disabilities included physical (affecting mobility, physical capacity or dexterity), sensory (affecting sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell), or intellectual. Compared to women without disabilities, women with disabilities had:

  • more than twice the risk for severe preeclampsia (a potentially life-threatening hypertensive disorder of pregnancy)
  • 48% higher risk for mild preeclampsia
  • 25% higher risk for gestational diabetes
  • 52% higher risk for placenta previa (placenta covering all or part of the cervix)
  • 16% higher risk for premature rupture of the membranes
  • 27% higher risk for hemorrhage
  • 11 times the risk for maternal death
  • more than six times the risk for thromboembolism (blood clots in the lungs or veins in the legs)
  • four times the risk for cardiovascular events (heart attacks and other disorders of the heart and blood vessels)
  • nearly three times the risk for infection
  • 33% greater likelihood of receiving the drug oxytocin to stimulate labor; to have delivery with forceps, a vacuum, or other devices to extract the fetus; or to have a cesarean delivery.

Women with disabilities had a similar pregnancy rate as non-disabled women, but a higher frequency of health risk factors. Preterm birth, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and cesarean delivery are all higher risks for women with disabilities, according to previous research.

However, nothing was known regarding the risk of serious pregnancy problems for women with disabilities.

The authors emphasized that women with disabilities are more likely to be poor, which may make timely access to health care harder.

Physically disabled people may also have trouble accessing healthcare facilities. Higher rates of smoking, substance abuse, and depression may further increase their health risks.

Source: JAMA Network Open

Image Credit:

You were reading: Women with disabilities like taste/smell have higher risk of birth complications, death – NIH study shows

Latest articles

Here’s How and When Mount Everest-sized ‘Devil Comet’ Can Be Seen With Naked Eye

Mount Everest sized Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, also known as "devil comet" which is making its...

Something Fascinating Happened When a Giant Quantum Vortex was Created in Superfluid Helium

Scientists created a giant swirling vortex within superfluid helium that is chilled to the...

The Science of Middle-aged Brain and the Best Thing You Can Do to Keep it Healthy, Revealed

Middle age: It is an important period in brain aging, characterized by unique biological...

Science Shock: Salmon’s Food Choices Better at Reducing Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke

Salmon: Rich in Health Benefits, Yet May Offer Less Nutritional Value - This is...

More like this

Here’s How and When Mount Everest-sized ‘Devil Comet’ Can Be Seen With Naked Eye

Mount Everest sized Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, also known as "devil comet" which is making its...

Something Fascinating Happened When a Giant Quantum Vortex was Created in Superfluid Helium

Scientists created a giant swirling vortex within superfluid helium that is chilled to the...

The Science of Middle-aged Brain and the Best Thing You Can Do to Keep it Healthy, Revealed

Middle age: It is an important period in brain aging, characterized by unique biological...