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Updated: Nov 23, 2025
Author Spotlight: An Automated Method for Assessing Visual Acuity in Infants and Toddlers Using an Eye-Tracking System
Published on: March 17, 2023
Pregnancy outcomes among visually impaired women in Washington State, 1987-2014
Melissa A Schiff1, David R Doody2, Deborah A Crane3
1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Preventive Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Background:
Women with visual impairment may have reduced ability to access standard care resources, however, information on their pregnancy and neonatal outcomes is limited.
Objective:
To assess risk of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes among visually impaired women in Washington State from 1987 to 2014.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked Washington State birth/fetal death hospital discharge records to compare outcomes among women with and without visual impairment noted at their delivery hospitalization. Pregnancy conditions and outcomes evaluated included gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, labor induction and cesarean delivery. Neonatal outcomes included preterm delivery and birth weight <2500 g. We assessed length of maternal and infant delivery hospitalization. We performed Poisson regression to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each outcome, adjusting for year of delivery, maternal age, and parity.
Results:
Most adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were similar for visually impaired (N = 232) and comparison women (N = 2362). However, visually impaired women had increased risks of severe pre-eclampsia (RR 3.77, 95% CI 1.69-8.43), labor induction (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.10-1.61) and preterm delivery (RR 1.60, 95% CI 1.06-2.42). They were also more likely to have delivery hospitalizations of 3 or more days following a vaginal (RR 1.86, 95% CI 1.41-2.47). Among cesarean deliveries, infants of visually impaired women had increased risk (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.02-1.51) of hospitalization for 3 or more days postpartum.
Conclusion:
Our findings may be useful for obstetric providers in counseling their visually impaired patients.
