Puzzling disparities found in childbirth injuries
source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31490580/ns/health-womens_health/
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A new government study turned up some unexpected and puzzling disparities in injuries to women and babies during childbirth.
Women covered by Medicaid were less likely to be injured in childbirth than those with private insurance. Their babies, however, were more likely to experience complications, such as broken collar bones, head injuries and infections.
A similar dichotomy was revealed when the researchers compared births in urban and rural hospitals — moms did better in rural hospitals, while their babies did worse.
Overall, the news from the study was good; researchers found that childbirth complications have declined in the years between 2000 and 2006. But experts were perplexed by the disparities between the different groups of women and children.
The report, released this month by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the health services research arm of the U.S. government, doesn’t delve into the reasons for the puzzling results.
The hope is that these findings will spur other researchers to do more studies to find the underlying causes for the disparities, said the report’s senior author Roxanne Andrews, a researcher at AHRQ.
But this is the first inkling that there are some significant differences in the way doctors practice obstetrics in different types of hospitals, she said.
Women covered by Medicaid were less likely to be injured in childbirth than those with private insurance. Their babies, however, were more likely to experience complications, such as broken collar bones, head injuries and infections.
A similar dichotomy was revealed when the researchers compared births in urban and rural hospitals — moms did better in rural hospitals, while their babies did worse.
Overall, the news from the study was good; researchers found that childbirth complications have declined in the years between 2000 and 2006. But experts were perplexed by the disparities between the different groups of women and children.
The report, released this month by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the health services research arm of the U.S. government, doesn’t delve into the reasons for the puzzling results.
The hope is that these findings will spur other researchers to do more studies to find the underlying causes for the disparities, said the report’s senior author Roxanne Andrews, a researcher at AHRQ.
But this is the first inkling that there are some significant differences in the way doctors practice obstetrics in different types of hospitals, she said.
