ABSTRACT
Background
Little is known about the effects of natural disasters on pregnancy outcomes. We studied
mental health and birth outcomes among women exposed to Hurricane Katrina.
Methods
We collected data prospectively from a cohort of 301 women from New Orleans and Baton
Rouge. Pregnant women were interviewed during pregnancy about their experiences during
the hurricane, and whether they had experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. High hurricane exposure was defined as having 3
or more of the 8 severe hurricane experiences, such as feeling that one’s life was
in danger, walking through floodwaters, or having a loved one die.
Results
The frequency of low birth weight was higher in women with high hurricane exposure
(14.0%) than women without high hurricane exposure (4.7%), with an adjusted odds ratio
(aOR): 3.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–9.89; P < 0.01. The frequency of preterm birth was higher in women with high hurricane exposure
(14.0%) than women without high hurricane exposure (6.3%), with aOR: 2.3; 95% CI:
0.82–6.38; P > 0.05. There were no significant differences in the frequency of low birth weight
or preterm birth between women with PTSD or depression and women without PTSD or depression
(P > 0.05).
Conclusions
Women who had high hurricane exposure were at an increased risk of having low birth
weight infants. Rather than a general exposure to disaster, exposure to specific severe
disaster events and the intensity of the disaster experience may be better predictors
of poor pregnancy outcomes. To prevent poor pregnancy outcomes during and after disasters,
future disaster preparedness may need to include the planning of earlier evacuation
of pregnant women to minimize their exposure to severe disaster events.
KEY INDEXING TERMS
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 23,
2008
Received:
May 13,
2008
Footnotes
This study was supported by NIH/NICHD 3U01HD040477-0552. Dr. Harville is a BIRCWH scholar, supported by Grant Number K12HD043451 from the National Institute of Child Health And Human Development.
The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Child Health And Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- ErratumKidney InternationalVol. 81Issue 3Open Archive
- Corrections to “Xiong X, Harville EW, Mattison DR, et al. Exposure to Hurricane Katrina, post-traumatic stress disorder and birth outcomes.” Am J Med Sci 2008; 336:111–5.The American Journal of the Medical SciencesVol. 341Issue 1
- PreviewIn the article that appeared on page 111 of volume 336, number 2, in the Results section, the following sentence is incorrect: “Of the multiparous women, 5.3% had prior history of low birth weight infants.” The sentence should have appeared as “Within the study population, 5.3% of women had a prior history of low birth weight infants.” The related data found in Table 1 is correct in the published article.
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