Pregnancy Complications Among Resettled Refugees in Illinois

Newly resettled refugee populations often have significant health care needs including pregnancy complications; yet research is lacking on pregnancy complications among refugees in Illinois. This was a retrospective analysis of the 2016-2017 hospital discharge data of refugee women of childbearing age (15-44 years) in Illinois. There were 3,355 hospital encounters by refugee women in our analysis, and 19.1% (n = 640) were associated with complications mainly related to pregnancy. The majority of hospital encounters associated with complications mainly related to pregnancy occurred after the first 8 months of US arrival (85.2%) and were among women who had Medicaid insurance (90.3%), >= 5 hospital encounters (60.2%), and who were most commonly from Iraq (23.3%) or Burma (19.4%). Refugee women may benefit from increased awareness and education about prenatal care, support in access, and prompt referrals.

Automated summary

Newly resettled refugee women in Illinois have a high rate of pregnancy complications, particularly in the first 8 months after arrival in the US. This study found that over half of the hospital encounters were related to pregnancy complications, with a significant number of women from Iraq and Burma, most of whom had Medicaid insurance. Therefore, refugee women would benefit from increased awareness and education about prenatal care, as well as improved access to and referrals for healthcare services.