Maternal Obesity Is an Independent Risk Factor for Intensive Care Unit Admission during Delivery Hospitalization

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Critical Care Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Obesity is a growing public health concern with potential implications for pregnancy outcomes.
• Maternal intensive care unit (ICU) admission is a critical indicator of severe maternal morbidity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the association between maternal obesity, defined by body mass index (BMI), and the risk of ICU admission.
• To determine if obesity is an independent risk factor for ICU admission after adjusting for other factors.

Main Methods:

• Population-based retrospective cohort study utilizing Ohio live birth data from 2006 to 2012.
• Maternal ICU admission was the primary outcome, with maternal BMI as the primary exposure.
• Relative risk (RR) and adjusted relative risk (adjRR) were calculated across different BMI categories using multivariate logistic regression.

Main Results:

• The study included 999,437 births, with an overall maternal ICU admission rate of 1.10 per 1,000 births.
• Women with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m² had significantly higher ICU admission rates (1.80-2.98 per 1,000) compared to normal BMI.
• After adjustment, BMI ≥ 40 kg/m² remained an independent risk factor for ICU admission (adjRR: 1.37-1.69).

Conclusions:

• Maternal obesity is a significant risk factor for ICU admission.
• The risk of ICU admission escalates with increasing BMI.
• Severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m²) is identified as an independent risk factor for maternal ICU admission.