Trends in Early Prenatal Care Among Women with Pre-Existing Diabetes: Have Income Disparities Changed?

Medicaid Expansion and Perinatal Health Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study

OBJECTIVE

There has been little evidence of the impact of preventive services during pregnancy covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on birthing parent and infant outcomes. To address this gap, this study examines the association between Medicaid expansion under the ACA and birthing parent and infant outcomes of low-income pregnant people.

METHODS

This study used individual-level data from the 2004-2017 annual waves of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). PRAMS is a surveillance project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health departments that annually includes a representative sample of 1,300 to 3,400 births per state, selected from birth certificates. Birthing parents' outcomes of interest included timing of prenatal care, gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, cigarette smoking during pregnancy, and postpartum care. Infant outcomes included initiation and duration of breastfeeding, preterm birth, and birth weight. The association between ACA Medicaid expansion and the birthing parent and infant outcomes were examined using difference-in-differences estimation.

RESULTS

There was no association between Medicaid expansion and the outcomes examined after correcting for multiple testing. This finding was robust to several sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE

Study findings suggest that expanded access to more complete insurance benefits with limited cost-sharing for pregnant people, a group that already had high rates of insurance coverage, did not impact the birthing parents' and infant health outcomes examined.

Impact of excessive gestational weight gain on exclusive breastfeeding among women with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and obesity

BACKGROUND

Pregestational diabetes, obesity and gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with adverse perinatal outcomes, however, the influence of excessive GWG on lactation at discharge is less known. Our aim is to evaluate the impact of excessive GWG using the LifeCycle project guidelines on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and any BF rates at discharge among 171 women with Type 1 and 294 Type 2 diabetes and obesity who intended to BF.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Retrospective cohort study. Obesity was defined by BMI (kg/m2) as grade 1 (30-34.9), grade 2 (35-39.9) or grade 3 (≥40). GWG was categorized as adequate, inadequate or excessive according to the 2019 LifeCycle Project guidelines. Women with Type 1 were younger (30 vs 33y), primiparous (51 vs 32%), delivered earlier (37 vs 38w) than women with Type 2 andwere different in grade 1 (40 vs 26%), grade 3 obesity (19 vs 49%) and median GWG (15 vs 11kg). Of all 465 women with Type 1 and Type 2 combined, 365 (78%) who had excessive GWG and 100 (22%) who had non-excessive GWG showed similar EBF (27 vs 25%) and any BF (72 vs 72%) rates. Regression analysis showed that after adjusting for potential confounders excessive GWG was not a predictor of EBF or any BF at discharge.

CONCLUSION

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, obesity and excessive GWG are associated with low EBF, however, excessive GWG is not an independent predictor of low EBF or any BF at discharge.

Pre-pregnancy Diabetes, Pre-pregnancy Hypertension and Prenatal Care Timing among Women in the United States, 2018

INTRODUCTION

Women with pre-pregnancy diabetes or pre-pregnancy hypertension have increased risks of complications during pregnancy. Women who obtain prenatal care in the first trimester receive necessary routine testing and disease management tools that aid in controlling such conditions. However, research on the association between pre-pregnancy hypertension and pre-pregnancy diabetes and prenatal care timing among US women is limited.

METHODS

This study used data from the 2018 National Vital Statistic System (n = 3,618,853). Trained personnel collected information on prenatal care timing, maternal conditions, and demographics. Multivariate logistic regression models evaluated the association between pre-pregnancy hypertension, pre-pregnancy diabetes and prenatal care timing. A stratified analysis was conducted to determine if race/ethnicity modified the associations.

RESULTS

After adjustment, women with pre-pregnancy hypertension or pre-pregnancy diabetes had statistically significant increased odds of receiving early prenatal care compared to women without these conditions (OR 1.23; 95% CI: 1.21-1.26 and OR 1.27; 95% CI: 1.24-1.31, respectively). Among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women, those with pre-pregnancy hypertension or pre-pregnancy diabetes had statistically significantly increased odds of receiving early prenatal care compared to women without those pre-existing conditions (P < .001).

DISCUSSION

Further research is needed on the transition from preconception care to obstetric care for women with pre-existing diabetes or hypertension. However, these findings suggest that women who have conditions that could cause pregnancy complications are pursuing early prenatal care services to mitigate the development of adverse maternal and infant health conditions.

Insurance Differences in Preventive Care Use and Adverse Birth Outcomes Among Pregnant Women in a Medicaid Nonexpansion State: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Lack of quality preventive care has been associated with poorer outcomes for pregnant women with low incomes. Health policy changes implemented with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were designed to improve access to care. However, insurance coverage remains lower among women in Medicaid nonexpansion states. We compared health care use and adverse birth outcomes by insurance status among women giving birth in a large health system in a Medicaid nonexpansion state. Materials and Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using data for 9,613 women with deliveries during 2014-2015 at six hospitals associated with a large vertically integrated health care system in North Carolina. Adjusted logistic regression and zero-inflated negative binomial models examined associations between insurance status at delivery (commercial, Medicaid, or uninsured) and health care utilization (well-woman visits, late prenatal care, adequacy of prenatal care, postpartum follow-up, and emergency department [ED] visits) and outcomes (preterm birth, low birth weight, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes). Results: Having Medicaid at delivery was associated with lower rates of well-woman visits (rate ratio [RR] 0.25, 95% CI 0.23-0.28), higher rates of ED visits (RR 2.93, 95% CI 2.64-3.25), and higher odds of late prenatal care (odds ratio [OR] 1.18, 95% CI 1.03-1.34) compared to having commercial insurance, with similar results for uninsured women. Differences in adverse pregnancy outcomes were not statistically significant after adjusting for patient characteristics. Conclusions: Findings suggest that large gaps exist in use of preventive care between Medicaid/uninsured and commercially insured women. Policymakers should consider ways to improve potential and realized access to care.