RALEIGH — New research shows that more and more pregnant women are seeking care at emergency departments. It is a trend that has caught the eye of UNC’s Department of Emergency Medicine.
The question for researchers is: Why? The answer is not easy. Disparities by ethnicity and insurance payer were not surprising according to researchers. The results also indicate that gaps in prenatal care could be putting mother and baby at risk.
Major findings include emergency department use is on an upward trend, women on Medicaid are more than twice as likely to use an ED, Hispanic women use ED 1.5 times more than non-Hispanic, and younger women are more likely to seek care at the ED.
The full story with comments from researchers is available by clicking here.