The pregnancy disorder preeclampsia can double the risk of adverse health events post-birth among expectant mothers and their babies, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
For the study, researchers examined 2012 data on preeclampsia from numerous population-based and administrative data sets, including the National Center for Health Statistics Vital Statistics on Births database, the U.S. Health Care Cost and Utilization Project database and a commercial claims data set.
Here are four study findings.
- Preeclampsia increases the likelihood of an adverse event from 4.6 percent to 10.1 percent for mothers and from 7.8 percent to 15.4 percent for infants.
- The most common adverse events in mothers were hemorrhaging and low blood platelet counts. Preeclampsia was most closely linked to respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis in infants.
- The condition lowers gestational age by 1.7 weeks.
- Preeclampsia costs the U.S. healthcare system an average of $1.03 billion for mothers and $1.15 billion for infants during the first 12 months after birth.
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