How risks across pregnancies affect serious childbirth complications
Severe Maternal Morbidity: An Investigation of Joint Impacts of Risk Factors and Cumulative Risks Across Successive Pregnancies
This project looks at how health problems and social factors across multiple pregnancies can lead to severe complications for pregnant people.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11372859 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team is creating a linked dataset of about 14 million births from 1997–2022 across four states, joining birth records with hospital discharge data and census-tract information. They will match repeat pregnancies to the same person to see how conditions like anemia, high blood pressure in pregnancy, and cesarean delivery add up over time. Analyses will examine different types of severe maternal complications such as hemorrhage, sepsis, and organ failure, and the work is guided by a community advisory board. The goal is to find patterns that could point to better prevention and follow-up care.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People who gave birth one or more times in the included states between 1997 and 2022, especially those with repeat pregnancies and records in state vital and hospital databases, would be the individuals represented in this work.
Not a fit: People who did not give birth in the included states/years or whose records are not captured in the linked databases, and those seeking immediate clinical treatment, are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help clinicians and public health programs identify people at high risk and target prevention or follow-up to reduce life-threatening childbirth complications.
How similar studies have performed: Prior large record-linkage work (including the Parent Grant) has identified risk patterns for severe maternal morbidity, but this multi-state, longitudinal linking of repeat pregnancies is a broader and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Carmichael, Suzan L — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Carmichael, Suzan L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.