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. 2023 Jan;32(1):109-117.
doi: 10.1089/jwh.2022.0068. Epub 2022 Aug 30.

Postpartum Hospital Readmissions Among Massachusetts Women Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Kimberly S McKee  1 , Ilhom Akobirshoev  2 , Michael McKee  1 , Frank S Li  2 , Monika Mitra  2
Affiliations

Postpartum Hospital Readmissions Among Massachusetts Women Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Kimberly S McKee et al. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: Deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) women are at a higher risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes compared with other women. However, little is known about postpartum outcomes among DHH women. The objective was to compare the risk of postpartum hospitalizations for DHH compared with non-DHH women and the leading indications for postpartum admissions. Materials and Methods: We analyzed data from the 1998-2017 Massachusetts Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal Data System and identified 3,546 singleton deliveries to DHH women and 1,381,439 singleton deliveries to non-DHH women. We used Cox proportional hazard models to compare the first hospital admission and ≥2 hospital admissions between DHH and non-DHH women within 1-42, 43-90, and 91-365 days after delivery. Results: DHH women had a higher risk for any hospital admissions across all periods (hazard ratios [HR] = 1.84; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.46-2.34 within 1-42 days; HR = 2.76; 95%CI 1.99-3.83 within 43-90 days; and HR = 3.10; 95%CI 2.66-3.60 91-365 days) after childbirth compared with non-DHH women. They had an almost seven times higher risk for repeated hospital admissions within 43-90 days (HR = 6.84; 95%CI 1.66-28.21) and nearly four times higher the risk within 91-365 days (HR = 3.63; 95%CI 2.00-6.59) after delivery compared with non-DHH women. The leading indications for readmission among DHH women included: conditions complicating the puerperium/hemorrhage and soft tissues disorders. Conclusion: Compared with other women, DHH women had significantly higher readmissions across all postpartum periods and for repeated admissions >42 days. Leading postpartum indications were distinct from those of non-DHH women.

Keywords: deaf or hard of hearing women; postpartum hospitalizations; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Analytic sample selection, Massachusetts Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal Data System (PELL) data system, 1998–2017.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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