The Prevalence and Impact of Substance Use Disorder and Treatment on Maternal Obstetric Experiences and Birth Outcomes Among Singleton Deliveries in Massachusetts

Objectives Despite widely-known negative effects of substance use disorders (SUD) on women, children, and society, knowledge about population-based prevalence and impact of SUD and SUD treatment during the perinatal period is limited. Methods Population-based data from 375,851 singleton deliveries in Massachusetts 2003-2007 were drawn from a maternal-infant longitudinally-linked statewide dataset of vital statistics, hospital discharges (including emergency department (ED) visits), and SUD treatment records. Maternal SUD and SUD treatment were identified from 1-year pre-conception through delivery. We determined (1) the prevalence of SUD and SUD treatment; (2) the association of SUD with women's perinatal health service utilization, obstetric experiences, and birth outcomes; and (3) the association of SUD treatment with birth outcomes, using both bivariate and adjusted analyses. Results 5.5% of Massachusetts's deliveries between 2003 and 2007 occurred in mothers with SUD, but only 66% of them received SUD treatment pre-delivery. Women with SUD were poorer, less educated and had more health problems; utilized less prenatal care but more antenatal ED visits and hospitalizations, and had worse obstetric and birth outcomes. In adjusted analyses, SUD was associated with higher risk of prematurity (AOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.28-1.41) and low birth weight (LBW) (AOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.64-1.82). Women receiving SUD treatment had lower odds of prematurity (AOR 0.61, 95% CI 0.55-0.68) and LBW (AOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.49-0.61). Conclusions for Practice SUD treatment may improve perinatal outcomes among pregnant women with SUD, but many who need treatment don't receive it. Longitudinally-linked existing public health and programmatic records provide opportunities for states to monitor SUD identification and treatment

Hospital Differences in Cesarean Deliveries in Massachusetts (US) 2004–2006: The Case against Case-Mix Artifact

Objective: We examined the extent to which differences in hospital-level cesarean delivery rates in Massachusetts were attributable to hospital-level, rather than maternal, characteristics. Methods: Birth certificate and maternal in-patient hospital discharge records for 2004–06 in Massachusetts were linked. The study population was nulliparous, term, singleton, and vertex births (NTSV) (n = 80,371) in 49 hospitals. Covariates included mother's age, race/ethnicity, education, infant birth weight, gestational age, labor induction (yes/no), hospital shift at time of birth, and preexisting health conditions. We estimated multilevel logistic regression models to assess the likelihood of a cesarean delivery. Results: Overall, among women with NTSV births, 26.5% births were cesarean, with a range of 14% to 38.3% across hospitals. In unadjusted models, the between-hospital variance was 0.103 (SE 0.022); adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and preexisting medical conditions did not reduce any hospital-level variation 0.108 (SE 0.023). Conclusion: Even after adjusting for both socio-demographic and clinical factors, the chance of a cesarean delivery for NTSV pregnancies varied according to hospital, suggesting the importance of hospital practices and culture in determining a hospital's cesarean rate

Women's experience of agency and respect in maternity care by type of insurance in California.

ObjectivePublic insurance (Medicaid) covered 42% of all U.S. births in 2018. This paper describes and analyzes the self-reported experiences of women with Medicaid versus commercial insurance relating to autonomy, control and respectful treatment in maternity care.MethodsThe sampling frame for the Listening to Mothers in California survey was drawn from 2016 California birth certificate files. The 30-minute survey had a 55% response rate. A secondary multivariable analysis of results from the survey included 2,318 women with commercial private insurance (1,087) or public (Medi-Cal) (1,231) coverage. Results were weighted and were representative of all births in 2016 in California. The multivariable analysis of variables related to maternal agency included engagement in decision making regarding interventions such as vaginal birth after cesarean and episiotomy, feeling pressured to have interventions and sense of fair treatment. We examined their relationship to insurance status adjusted for maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, nativity and attitude toward birth as well as type of prenatal provider, type of birth attendant and pregnancy complications.ResultsWomen with Medi-Cal had a demographic profile distinct from those with commercial insurance. In multivariable analysis, women with Medi-Cal reported less control over their maternity care experience than women with commercial insurance, including less choice of prenatal provider (AOR 1.61 95%C.I. 1.20, 2.17), or a vaginal birth after cesarean (AOR 2.93 95%C.I. 1.49, 5.73). Mothers on Medi-Cal were also less likely to be consulted before experiencing an episiotomy (AOR 0.30 95%C.I. 0.09, 0.94). They were more likely to report feeling pressure to have a primary cesarean (AOR 2.54 95%C.I. 1.55, 4.16) and less likely to be encouraged by staff to make their own decisions (AOR 0.63 95%C.I. 0.47, 0.85).ConclusionsChildbearing women with public insurance in California clearly and consistently reported less opportunity to choose their care than women with private insurance. These inequities are a call to action for increased accountability and quality improvement relating to care of the many childbearing women with Medicaid coverage

Labor and Delivery Experiences of Mothers with Suspected Large Babies

ObjectiveTo characterize the prevalence of and factors associated with clinicians' prenatal suspicion of a large baby; and to determine whether communicating fetal size concerns to patients was associated with labor and delivery interventions and outcomes.MethodsWe examined data from women without a prior cesarean who responded to Listening to Mothers III, a nationally representative survey of women who had given birth between July 2011 and June 2012 (n = 1960). We estimated the effect of having a suspected large baby (SLB) on the odds of six labor and delivery outcomes.ResultsNearly one-third (31.2%) of women were told by their maternity care providers that their babies might be getting "quite large"; however, only 9.9% delivered a baby weighing ≥4000 g (19.7% among mothers with SLBs, 5.5% without). Women with SLBs had increased adjusted odds of medically-induced labor (AOR 1.9; 95% CI 1.4-2.6), attempted self-induced labor (AOR 1.9; 95% CI 1.4-2.7), and use of epidural analgesics (AOR 2.0; 95% CI 1.4-2.9). No differences were noted for overall cesarean rates, although women with SLBs were more likely to ask for (AOR 4.6; 95% CI 2.8-7.6) and have planned (AOR 1.8; 95% CI 1.0-4.5) cesarean deliveries. These associations were not affected by adjustment for gestational age and birthweight.Conclusions for practiceOnly one in five US women who were told that their babies might be getting quite large actually delivered infants weighing ≥4000 g. However, the suspicion of a large baby was associated with an increase in perinatal interventions, regardless of actual fetal size

Correction to: Early-life exposure to PM2.5 and risk of acute asthma clinical encounters among children in Massachusetts: a case-crossover analysis.

After publication of the article [1], it was brought to our attention that a number in Table 1 is incorrect

Early-life exposure to PM2.5 and risk of acute asthma clinical encounters among children in Massachusetts: a case-crossover analysis

Associations between ambient particulate matter < 2.5 mu m (PM2.5) and asthma morbidity have been suggested in previous epidemiologic studies but results are inconsistent for areas with lower PM2.5 levels. We estimated the associations between early-life short-term PM2.5 exposure and the risk of asthma or wheeze clinical encounters among Massachusetts children in the innovative Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal (PELL) cohort data linkage system. Methods: We used a semi-bidirectional case-crossover study design with short-term exposure lags for asthma exacerbation using data from the PELL system. Cases included children up to 9 years of age who had a hospitalization, observational stay, or emergency department visit for asthma or wheeze between January 2001 and September 2009 (n = 33,387). Daily PM2.5 concentrations were estimated at a 4-km resolution using satellite remote sensing, land use, and meteorological data. We applied conditional logistic regression models to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We also stratified by potential effect modifiers. Results: The median PM2.5 concentration among participants was 7.8 mu g/m(3) with an interquartile range of 5.9 mu g/m(3). Overall, associations between PM2.5 exposure and asthma clinical encounters among children at lags 0, 1 and 2 were close to the null value of OR = 1.0. Evidence of effect modification was observed by birthweight for lags 0, 1 and 2 (p < 0.05), and season of clinical encounter for lags 0 and 1 (p < 0.05). Children with low birthweight (LBW) (< 2500 g) had increased odds of having an asthma clinical encounter due to higher PM2.5 exposure for lag 1 (OR: 1.08 per interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM2.595% CI: 1.01, 1.15). Conclusion: Asthma or wheeze exacerbations among LBW children were associated with short-term increases in PM2.5 concentrations at low levels in Massachusetts