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Erschienen in:
01.11.2015
Birth Outcomes in a Disaster Recovery Environment: New Orleans Women After Katrina
Erschienen in: Maternal and Child Health Journal | Ausgabe 11/2015
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Objectives
To examine how the recovery following Hurricane Katrina affected pregnancy outcomes.
Methods
308 New Orleans area pregnant women were interviewed 5–7 years after Hurricane Katrina about their exposure to the disaster (danger, damage, and injury); current disruption; and perceptions of recovery. Birthweight, gestational age, birth length, and head circumference were examined in linear models, and low birthweight (<2500 g) and preterm birth (<37 weeks) in logistic models, with adjustment for confounders.
Results
Associations were found between experiencing damage during Katrina and birthweight (adjusted beta for high exposure = −158 g) and between injury and gestational age (adjusted beta = −0.5 days). Of the indicators of recovery experience, most consistently associated with worsened birth outcomes was worry that another hurricane would hit the region (adjusted beta for birthweight: −112 g, p = 0.08; gestational age: −3.2 days, p = 0.02; birth length: −0.65 cm, p = 0.06).
Conclusions
Natural disaster may have long-term effects on pregnancy outcomes. Alternately, women who are most vulnerable to disaster may be also vulnerable to poor pregnancy outcome.