Social determinants of health in pregnant individuals from underrepresented, understudied, and underreported populations in the United States

International Journal for Equity in Health

Comment

Monica Longo¹  Guillermina Girardi¹  Andrew A. Bremer² 

[1] Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA;Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA;Pediatric Growth and Nutrition Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, USA;

关键词: Social determinants of health;    Health inequities;    U3 populations;    Stress;    Pregnancy;    Neonatal outcomes;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-023-01963-x

 received in 2022-08-03, accepted in 2023-07-13,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Women represent the cornerstone of a family’s overall health. Therefore, supporting women’s health, particularly in pregnancy, is important to promote public health. Emerging data highlight the contribution of social determinants of health (SDOH) on pregnancy outcomes in understudied, underrepresented, and underreported (U3) populations. Importantly, women are uniquely affected by and more vulnerable to adverse outcomes associated with SDOH. The maternal mortality rate has also increased significantly in the United States, especially among U3 individuals. Factors such as access to safe food, housing and environment, access to education and emergency/health services, and stressors such as interpersonal racism, poverty, unemployment, residential segregation, and domestic violence may make women from U3 populations more vulnerable to adverse reproductive health outcomes. Despite progress in promoting women’s health, eliminating social and health disparities in pregnant individuals remains an elusive goal in U3 populations. Moreover, chronic exposure to excessive social/cultural stressors may have a physiologic cost leading to pregnancy complications such as miscarriages, preterm birth, and preeclampsia. Thus, the identification of SDOH-related factors that drive differences in pregnancy-related complications and deaths and the implementation of prevention strategies to address them could reduce disparities in pregnancy-related mortality in U3 populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023