Study Links Pregnancy Complications to Long-Term Mortality Risk in Women

During pregnancy, women experience some complications such as preterm delivery- delivery of a baby before 37 weeks of gestation, preeclampsia- a condition that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy, gestational diabetes- a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy and other blood pressure-related disorders. These complications are very common and can be serious too. This can affect the mother’s health as well as babies’ health. According to research published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, these complications increase the risk of early death in women for many years after they deliver babies.  

The researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in the U.S. and Lund University in Sweden tried to study whether experiencing these complications during pregnancy or delivery increases the risk of death. They used data records of almost 2.2 million women who delivered babies between 1973 and 2015. They collected the data of medical history of these involved women as well.   

Researchers compared this collected data with women who had not given birth or who had given birth without experiencing these complications. They could easily understand that women who had complications had a higher risk of death. The result of this study shows that women who had complications such as preterm birth, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia had a mortality rate of 41%, 53%, 13% respectively.  

The results of this research clearly show that these complications can affect a woman’s health very badly due to which there is a risk of early death. These findings also suggest that women who experience complications during pregnancy or at the time of delivery should take care of their health in the long run.  

As the findings of this study reveal risk factor of mortality in women, healthcare professionals can make effective strategies. Even though the results are positive and revealed risk factors, there is a need for further research.  

Reference Link:  

Casey Crump et al, Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Long-Term Mortality in Women, JAMA Internal Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.0276