TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of marital status on pregnancy outcome in Israel
T2 - A retrospective case-control study
AU - Lurie, Samuel
AU - Zalmanovitch, Anath
AU - Golan, Abraham
AU - Sadan, Oscar
PY - 2010/12
Y1 - 2010/12
N2 - Aims: Previous studies have observed an association between unmarried status of the mother and adverse perinatal outcome such as increased rate of preterm deliveries, low birthweight and small-for-gestational-age infants. In Israel, attendance of prenatal care is imposed by the state and is not related to socioeconomic status; therefore, unmarried women are expected to have a similar prenatal care as married women. The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that unmarried and married pregnant women have a similar perinatal outcome. Material & Methods: In a retrospective case-control study, analysis of the records of women who gave birth at the delivery ward of Edith Wolfson Medical Center (a tertiary health care center) over a one-year period (2005) with respect to marital status was performed. The cases group included 304 unmarried women who were matched with 1:1 ratio for maternal age, parity, and number of fetuses in the current pregnancy. Results: Unmarried women (n = 304) were more likely to smoke during pregnancy (35.2% vs 15.2%, P < 0.001), had a longer second stage (44.4 ± 9.8 min vs 54.4 ± 4.4 min, P < 0.05) and a shorter first stage (484.0 ± 34.8 min vs 421.0 ± 25.3 min P < 0.05) of labor. The unmarried women had similar length of gestation, preterm delivery rate, mode of delivery, low birthweight rates, low Apgar scores or meconium passage during labor as married women. Conclusion: In Israel, unmarried and married pregnant women may have almost similar pregnancy outcomes on length of gestation, mode of delivery and Apgar score.
AB - Aims: Previous studies have observed an association between unmarried status of the mother and adverse perinatal outcome such as increased rate of preterm deliveries, low birthweight and small-for-gestational-age infants. In Israel, attendance of prenatal care is imposed by the state and is not related to socioeconomic status; therefore, unmarried women are expected to have a similar prenatal care as married women. The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that unmarried and married pregnant women have a similar perinatal outcome. Material & Methods: In a retrospective case-control study, analysis of the records of women who gave birth at the delivery ward of Edith Wolfson Medical Center (a tertiary health care center) over a one-year period (2005) with respect to marital status was performed. The cases group included 304 unmarried women who were matched with 1:1 ratio for maternal age, parity, and number of fetuses in the current pregnancy. Results: Unmarried women (n = 304) were more likely to smoke during pregnancy (35.2% vs 15.2%, P < 0.001), had a longer second stage (44.4 ± 9.8 min vs 54.4 ± 4.4 min, P < 0.05) and a shorter first stage (484.0 ± 34.8 min vs 421.0 ± 25.3 min P < 0.05) of labor. The unmarried women had similar length of gestation, preterm delivery rate, mode of delivery, low birthweight rates, low Apgar scores or meconium passage during labor as married women. Conclusion: In Israel, unmarried and married pregnant women may have almost similar pregnancy outcomes on length of gestation, mode of delivery and Apgar score.
KW - Adverse pregnancy outcome
KW - Marital status
KW - Pregnancy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78651301921&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1447-0756.2010.01312.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1447-0756.2010.01312.x
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AN - SCOPUS:78651301921
SN - 1341-8076
VL - 36
SP - 1161
EP - 1164
JO - Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research
JF - Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research
IS - 6
ER -