Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of women with disabilities: a nationwide population-based study in South Korea

Abstract

We investigated (1) pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in women with and without disabilities, (2) time trends in deliveries, and (3) risks of pregnancy and neonatal complications among women with various disability types and severity. This was a nationwide population-based study merging the database of the Korea National Health Insurance claims, National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children, and Disability Registration System to compare perinatal outcomes in women with and without disabilities. Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were analyzed during 2007 and 2015, as were time trends of deliveries. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate risk of perinatal outcomes among women with various disability types and severities. Women with disabilities showed higher rates of cesarean section (aOR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.69-1.77), hypertensive disorders (aOR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.63-1.86), placenta abruption (aOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.12-1.45), placenta previa (aOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05-1.24), stillbirths (aOR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.17-1.45), preterm births (aOR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.57-1.78), and LBW (aOR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.78-1.97) than those without disabilities. From 2007 to 2015, although delivery rate in women with disabilities decreased steeply compared with that in women without disabilities, the rate of cesarean section increased in women with disabilities. Women with intellectual disability and those with vision impairment had the highest number of perinatal complications among women with various types of disabilities. Women with disability had more adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes than those without disabilities. Specific disability types & severities are more vulnerable to specific perinatal complications.

Figure 1

Flow diagram of the study.

Figure 2

Trends in deliveries according to disability. (a) Total number of deliveries in women with disabilities and without disabilities. (b) Proportion of deliveries in women with disabilities to those in the study population. (c) Proportion of cesarean sections of women with disabilities compared to women without disabilities.