Overweight New York women more likely to die during childbirth than thinner women - Overweight New York women, and those older than 40, are more likely to die during childbirth than their thinner, younger counterparts, a new Health Department study found.
Nearly half of the women who died from childbirth from 2001 to 2005 were obese - and 37% of them were older than 40, city data show.
"Obesity is a large factor in pregnancy-related deaths," said Wendy Wilcox, a consultant for the Health Department and vice chairwoman in the ob-gyn unit of the North Bronx Healthcare Network.
A new Health Department study finds nearly half the women who died during childbirth from 2001 to 2005 were obese.
These women also tended to be black and uninsured and to have C-section deliveries, officials said.
Although the number of deaths during childbirth remains relatively low - there were 161 during the four years studied - the city's rate of pregnancy-related deaths is the highest in the state and among the highest in the country.
The city averages 23 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births, double the nation's average of 12.
Poverty appears to be the culprit, officials said, noting that the neighborhoods with high rates of pregnancy-related deaths also count the highest number of obese and low-income residents.
The Bronx ranked tops for maternal deaths, followed, in order, by Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island.
The leading cause of maternal deaths was blood clots, bleeding, hypertension and infection. Obese women are at high risk for blood clots. ( nydailynews.com )
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