Cesarean birth and adverse birth outcomes among sub-populations of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
Tyler G James, Kimberly S McKee, Tiffany A Moore Simas and 3 others
PMID 38811248WHAT IT FOUND
Deaf and hard-of-hearing women who reported poor communication during pregnancy had more preterm births and NICU admissions.
No other hearing-related factors, like language or severity, were linked to adverse outcomes in this survey of 583 women.
Key findings
01Preterm birth and NICU admission were significantly more common among respondents who experienced worse perinatal care communication.
02There were no significant differences in birth outcomes based on preferred language, genetic etiology, hearing loss severity, or age of onset.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was predominantly white and college-educated, which does not represent the broader socioeconomic diversity of the deaf and hard-of-hearing population. Small sample sizes prevented the calculation of adjusted prevalence ratios, meaning other factors like race or socioeconomic status were not controlled for. The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that poor communication caused the adverse birth outcomes; it is possible that having a difficult birth influenced how women rated their communication experience. Communication quality was measured by a single self-reported item, which may not capture the full complexity of patient-provider interactions.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that hearing loss severity or language preference directly causes adverse birth outcomes. The only factor significantly linked to preterm birth and NICU admission in this study was the quality of communication during care, and because the data is cross-sectional, it does not prove that poor communication caused these outcomes.