Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) has increased in the United States by 45% in the last decade. While the recurrence of several adverse pregnancy outcomes from one pregnancy to the next has been established, the recurrence risk of SMM is unknown. An NINR-funded population-based study used linked vital statistics and hospital discharge records from California from 1997-2012 to determine whether women who have SMM in a first pregnancy are at increased risk of SMM in their second pregnancy. Findings indicate an approximate sixfold increased risk compared to women who did not have SMM in their first pregnancy. Given the study's findings, health care providers may want to consider extra reproductive life planning discussions and very attentive inter-conception and prenatal care for women who experienced SMM at the time of their first birth.
Bane S, Wall-Wieler E, Lyndon A, Carmichael SL. Recurrence of severe maternal morbidity: A population-based cohort analysis of California women. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2021 Mar;35(2):155-161. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12714. Epub 2020 Nov 6. PMID: 33155710