Babies born to Moms with Hearing Loss More Likely to be Premature
Expectant mothers want the best for their children, and spend their pregnancy doing everything they can to make sure the baby is born healthy. A recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine looks at pregnant women with hearing loss. The surprising results show that babies born to women with hearing loss are more likely to have low birth weight or be born prematurely. Why do women with hearing loss have poor birth outcomes?
How Hearing Loss Affects MothersBabies born to Moms with Hearing Loss More Likely to be Premature
For women struggling with hearing loss, their disability can be isolating. Around 1% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 have a hearing disability, and these women often have communication and language barriers. Even communicating with family and friends can be challenging. Finding a supportive friend group can seem impossible. These women have greater life stress since even mundane tasks, like shopping for groceries, can be stressful with hearing loss. Finally, women with hearing loss often have other physical or mental concerns along with their hearing impairment, and hearing loss affects every part of their life.
Lead investigator Dr. Monika Mitra of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University says that women with hearing loss are a very vulnerable population. They are more exposed to interpersonal violence: women with hearing loss suffer almost double the violence and abuse than women with normal hearing. At high risk of violence during their pregnancy, it’s easy to see that these mothers are more likely to have complications during pregnancy.
Services for Mothers with Hearing Loss
Women with hearing loss get less support during their pregnancy. Healthcare providers are often not trained in communicating with deaf or hard of hearing mothers, and women with hearing loss often have a general mistrust of the medical community. This all contributes to a strained patient-provider relationship, where the mother mistrusts the health care provider, and the provider gets frustrated.
Worse health outcomes follow, since the moms may not receive the same level of prenatal care and often have a hard time understanding and following the directions they’ve been given. Dr. Mitra and colleagues found that these mothers were not as satisfied with the level of care they received, had fewer prenatal visits, and far less support from health care providers.
Not only do mothers with hearing loss often have unhealthy relationships with their health providers, they also have less access to knowledge about their pregnancy. Because of their disability, mothers with hearing loss aren’t exposed to as many healthcare messages, media information, and other learning opportunities that hearing mothers receive. They may be missing key education related to their pregnancy, and have less knowledge about birth and pregnancy.
Another factor in birth outcomes are the insurance providers used. For women with hearing loss, many are insured by Medicare and may not be receiving quality care. Women with hearing loss are also more likely to be admitted into urban teaching hospitals for their delivery. Hearing women, more often than not, have private insurance for their pregnancy and delivery, and more adequate services.
Health Outcomes for Babies
So what does all this mean for the babies? Premature birth or low birth weight gives babies a disadvantage from the moment they take their first breath. Premature birth can lead to developmental and physical disabilities and behavior problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety. These babies have a higher risk of developing autism or other learning disabilities. Tragically, low birth weight or premature babies are also at a higher risk of hearing loss.
Were you surprised to hear that mothers with hearing loss had worse health outcomes? To learn more about the study, visit news-medical.net. If you believe an expectant mom in your life is experiencing untreated hearing loss, contact us at Desert Valley Audiology today for a consultation.
Desert Valley Audiology
(702) 605-9133