A new study has revealed new details on the effect sickle cell disease has on the maternal outcomes of Black women.
Published in the American Journal of Hematology, the study detailed that Black pregnant women with Sickle Cell Disease experience higher rates of stillbirths and inpatient maternal mortality.
Even with adjustments for factors such as age, delivery era, comorbidities, health insurance and Distressed Communities Index scores, it was found that Black women with SCD still experienced increasingly worse maternal outcomes than Black women without SCD.
To explore the effects of SCD and Black women’s maternal health outcomes, the study used California’s Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) data from 1991-2019.
The data specifically aided in estimating the cumulative incidence of pregnancy outcomes in Black women with and without Sickle Cell Disease. The study identified 1,260 Black women with SCD and 469,018 Black women without SCD during their first pregnancy.
“Despite adjusting for social determinants of health, Black women with SCD living in California experienced significantly worse pregnancy outcomes than those without SCD,” said Oyebimpe Adesina, lead author of the study and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center hematologist.
The medical research site, Medical Express, reports that the study also found that Black women with Sickle Cell Disease were “more likely deliver at a younger age, use government insurance, and live in at-risk or distressed neighborhoods, compared to those without SCD.”
The new study expands on the continued conversation regarding Black women’s maternal health crisis.
In response to the urgent need to address the issues faced by pregnant Black women, a collective of over 50 Black-led organizations recently presented lawmakers with a comprehensive guide to help them better address the reproductive concerns of Black women, girls, and those who are gender expansive.
The Black Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda employs a reproductive justice framework to assess how lawmakers can better craft policy that works to improve and highlight reproductive outcomes for Black women and girls.