image: Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. view more
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, April 6, 2017 -- A new study has shown that women with intellectual and developmental disabilities had nearly twice the risk of a hospital or emergency department visit with the first few weeks after giving birth compared to women without these disabilities. The researchers reported their results and how medical versus psychiatric reasons contributed to the differences in the need for acute postpartum care in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website until May 6, 2017.
Hilary Brown, PhD, and coauthors from Women's College Hospital, University of Toronto, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada, and University of Ottawa, Canada, concluded that the higher rates of postpartum hospital and emergency department visits among women with intellectual and development disabilities demonstrates the potential vulnerability of these women to postpartum complications and the need for more preventive care. They discuss the potential implications of their findings in the article entitled "Postpartum Acute Care Utilization Among Women with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities."
An Editorial in Journal of Women's Health by Monika Mitra, PhD, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, emphasizes the additional postpartum challenges this population of women face, including limited social and emotional support and significant disparities in maternal and birth outcomes. In additional to these challenges, these women "are faced with significant discrimination that likely reflects societal bias against them," states Dr. Mitra in the article "Postpartum Health of Women with Intellectual and Development Disabilities: A Call to Action."
"Whereas it has been clear that women with disabilities are more likely to have pregnancy complications, this study sheds light on the greater health risks these women face during the postpartum period," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health. "These results emphasize the need to monitor these patients more closely and consider safeguards that could lower their risk for postpartum health issues."
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About the Journal
Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. Led by Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health, the Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website. Journal of Women's Health is the official journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research.
About the Academy
Academy of Women's Health is an interdisciplinary, international association of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who work across the broad field of women's health, providing its members with up-to-date advances and options in clinical care that will enable the best outcomes for their women patients. The Academy's focus includes the dissemination of translational research and evidence-based practices for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of women across the lifespan. Journal of Women's Health and the Academy of Women's Health are co-presenters of Women's Health 2017: The 25th Anniversary Congress which will take place April 28-30, 2017 in Washington, DC.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including LGBT Health, Transgender Health, Population Health Management, and Breastfeeding Medicine. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801 http://www.liebertpub.com Phone: (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax (914) 740-2101