Primary Submission Category: Reproductive health
The Emergency Department and First-Touch Encounters Among Pregnant Women: An Examination of Births from A Single Delivery Hospital in a larger Healthcare System
Authors: Angela Campbell, Kelli Ryckman, Austin Knies, Andreia Alexander, Lucia Guerra-Reyes, Sarah Wiehe,
Presenting Author: Angela Campbell*
Study Objective: This study describes a population that could be targeted for prenatal care interventions. We compared characteristics of pregnant women whose first touch with the healthcare system in which they deliver is in the emergency department (ED) to pregnant women whose first touch with the healthcare system occurs in a non-ED setting.
Methods: We sampled the electronic health records of mothers who had a live birth in a single urban hospital in Indiana in 2022 (N=3,205). All healthcare encounters that occurred in the healthcare system of delivery during the mother’s pregnancy were evaluated. Descriptive statistics were examined.
Results: Of all deliveries, 20.5% had their first touch with the healthcare system in the ED. A significantly larger proportion of that population were insured by Medicaid (87.1%) and were Non-Hispanic Black (39.2%) or Hispanic (29.5%) compared to the population whose first touch was not in the ED (60.9% insured by Medicaid, p<.001, and 25.6% and 19.7% Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic, respectively, p<.001). Among women who had at least two prenatal care visits, 41.8% of women whose first touch was in the ED received prenatal care in the first trimester compared to 90.1% of women whose first touch was not in the ED (p<.001).
Conclusion: Women whose first touch with the healthcare system during pregnancy occurs in the ED may need prenatal care outreach. Offering connection to care and wrap-around services to this population could improve the percentage of women who receive prenatal care in the first trimester.