Ectopic pregnancy: a nursing approach to excess risk among minority women

Abstract

Ectopic pregnancy rates have quadrupled during the last decade. Although maternal mortality has been reduced for white women, largely because of rapid pregnancy testing and improved ultrasonography, the death rate for minority women is almost twice that of white women, and minority adolescents are almost five times as likely to die of ectopic pregnancy. In this article, causative factors are identified, and the potential for race, gender, and age bias in diagnosis and treatment is discussed. Involvement by nurses in preventive programs, clinical research, and advocacy for policy change may help reduce ectopic pregnancy mortality rates.