Puzzling Disparities Found in Childbirth Injuries
JUNE 26, 2009
MSNBC.com reports that women covered by Medicaid were less likely to be injured in childbirth than those with private insurance. Their babies, however, were more likely to experience complications, such as broken collar bones, head injuries and infections. But, researchers found that childbirth complications have declined in the years between 2000 and 2006.The study also found that injuries were less common among black and Hispanic moms and babies than among whites. In another unexpected association, male infants were more likely than females to sustain injuries during delivery. You might be seeing differences in patterns of practice that are associated with the different types of hospitals, speculated Sindhu Srinivas, MD, MSCE, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Associate Scholar, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. One example of that could be the issue of elective cesarean section, Srinivas said. "Certain hospitals might be more likely to perform cesarean deliveries than others and this might impact the outcome. Also, different types of patients might be more likely to choose an elective cesarean," said Srinivas. The report was released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the health services research arm of the U.S. government.
