Grant: Project Grant

Pregnancy is increasingly recognized as a window into a woman's future state of health and well-being, and complications occurring in pregnancy can identify women at risk for chronic health conditions. Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) refer to serious unexpected outcomes during pregnancy, or around delivery that increase a woman`s risk of dying. Even for women who survive the delivery period, SMM has significant short-term health consequences to a woman. For example, women with SMM often have increased length of hospital stay, and a greater need for admission to an intensive care unit, compared with women without SMM. However, we do not know enough about a woman's long-term health after SMM, that is, her health status after 42 days of delivery (immediate postpartum period). Some SMM, e.g. severe pre-eclampsia and obstetric hemorrhage, have been reported to increase the risk of heart disease in the mother months to years after delivery. Therefore, it is possible that SMM has long-term effects on a woman's physical and mental health. As SMM rates are rising, including in Canada, it is pertinent to understand how these conditions may impact a woman's future health. This study aims to find out if women who survive after experiencing SMM in pregnancy become ill and require more health service use, compared with women who did not have SMM in pregnancy. We will find out the most common reasons for health service use e.g. recurrent pregnancy complications, mental health and other health issues. We will also examine how these health outcomes vary by province and year. This will be the first known study to explore these issues using Canadian databases. The results from this project will help health care providers understand the risk of future health outcomes in women with SMM, and plan necessary interventions, procedures, follow-ups and resources. Overall, this research will provide information that will help to improve the health of women in Canada.