Gestational Hypertension Among Maryland Mothers

Full Description:

Background: In the United States, approximately six percent of all pregnant women experience some type of gestational hypertension. The present study examines gestational hypertension among cisgender mothers in Maryland using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.

Methods: The present study examined 26,253 responses of Maryland mothers who delivered live infants between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2019. Birth certificate data was used as opposed to survey response data because medical documentation decreases the likelihood of recall bias impacting the analysis.

Results: The results indicated that mothers in Maryland had a gestational hypertension prevalence rate of 6.5% between 2001-2019. This rate is only slightly higher than the national prevalence at approximately 6.0%. Indigenous women (Odds Ratio [OR]: 2.8, CI 0.8-9.6) and Black Non-Hispanic women (OR:1.3, CI 1.1-1.5) had significantly higher odds of being hypertensive during pregnancy compared to White Non-Hispanic women. Overweight mothers (OR: 1.8, CI 1.5-2.1) or obese (OR: 3.9, CI 3.4-4.5) experienced significantly greater odds of gestational hypertension. Mothers who had gestational hypertension were more likely to deliver extremely preterm infants (AOR:2.5, CI 2.0-3.1), very preterm (AOR: 5.2, CI 4.3-6.2), late preterm (AOR:4.9, CI 4.2-5.7) and early term (AOR:2.6, CI 2.2-3.0) compared to delivering an infant of normal gestational age.

Discussion: Gestational hypertension and preeclampsia are more likely to occur in people over the age of 40 and those who are above the normal body mass index range. Maryland mothers with gestational hypertension were more likely to deliver an infant that would be born preterm, have low birth weight, stay in the NICU and be small for gestational age compared to delivering infants without those outcomes. Maryland mothers with gestational hypertension had nearly five times the odds of delivering a late preterm infant compared to an infant of normal gestational age. They also had over five times the odds of delivering an infant with a very low birth weight compared to an infant within the normal birth weight range.

Limitations: The first noteworthy limitation was the use of outdated racial and ethnic terminology in the survey. Secondly, the restriction of responses to cisgender women contributes to the lack of knowledge regarding birthing experiences in gender-diverse populations. As public health evolves, it is critical to adjust to methodologies that promote inclusivity and equity. The proposed presentation will present the findings and provide recommendations to promote inclusivity, cultural competency, antiracism, and equity within maternal and child studies, and more broadly in public health using multidisciplinary approaches

Abbreviated Description: In the United States, approximately six percent of all pregnant women experience at least one type of gestational hypertension. The present study examines gestational hypertension among a sample of 26,253 cisgender mothers in Maryland who delivered live infants between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2019 using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Systems. This presentation discusses findings and implications as well as provides recommendations to promote inclusivity, cultural competency, and equity within maternal and child health studies.