State abortion bans and serious pregnancy complications
State-level variation in severe maternal morbidity, 2019-2023
This project looks at whether states that banned abortion saw more life-threatening pregnancy complications using hospital records from 42 states (2019–2023).
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Maryland, College Park NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Park, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11324242 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you or someone you care about was hospitalized during pregnancy between 2019 and 2023, this project will use de-identified hospital records from 42 states combined with information about state abortion laws to look for changes in serious pregnancy complications after bans. The researchers will compare trends in states that enacted bans with trends in states that did not and will focus on hospital stays where a person had a life-threatening obstetric condition and experienced severe maternal morbidity. They will apply modern statistical designs to try to separate the effect of laws from other differences between states. The goal is to show whether policy changes were followed by more hospitalizations with serious short- or long-term pregnancy-related harms.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People hospitalized for pregnancy-related care or obstetric emergencies in one of the 42 included U.S. states between 2019 and 2023 would be the relevant patient group for this analysis.
Not a fit: Patients who were not hospitalized, whose care occurred outside the 42 included states, or whose events were not captured in hospital records may not be reflected or directly benefit from this analysis.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could clarify whether abortion policy changes raised risks of severe pregnancy complications and guide policy and care to protect pregnant patients.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies on abortion restrictions and maternal outcomes are limited and give mixed results, so this larger multi-state analysis represents a relatively new and more comprehensive effort.
Where this research is happening
College Park, United States
- Univ of Maryland, College Park — College Park, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Steenland, Maria Ward — Univ of Maryland, College Park
- Study coordinator: Steenland, Maria Ward
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.