Short-interval pregnancy in the Illinois Medicaid population following delivery in Catholic vs non-Catholic hospitals

Abstract

Objective: Catholic hospitals restrict access to comprehensive reproductive health services that could impact patient outcomes. We sought to determine whether delivery at a Catholic hospital is associated with shorter pregnancy intervals among patients insured by Medicaid in Illinois.

Study design: We used Illinois Medicaid data files to conduct a retrospective cohort study. We used billing codes to identify deliveries in 2010 and 2011 and classified each by a hospital of delivery, maternal age, race/ethnicity, and residential zip code. We calculated the interval from index birth to subsequent conception using an established method and used Cox proportional hazards regression to compare the rate of subsequent pregnancy between enrollees who delivered in Catholic vs non-Catholic hospitals, adjusting for individual characteristics. We also computed differences in the rates of conception within 6-, 12-, and 18-month intervals.

Results: We identified 96,293 index births and 18,627 subsequent conceptions. Twenty-eight percent (26,775) of index births occurred in a Catholic hospital. Women who delivered in a Catholic hospital had a 12% greater risk of conception in the following 18 months (HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.09-1.16) after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and rural residence. At 18 months, 23.9% of enrollees delivering in a Catholic hospital had become pregnant as compared to 21.2% for enrollees delivering in a non-Catholic hospital (difference of 2.6%, 95% CI 1.8-3.6).

Conclusion: Illinois Medicaid enrollees who deliver at Catholic hospitals have an increased risk of short-interval pregnancy. As the market share of Catholic hospitals grows, providers must work with patients to acknowledge and address these potential impacts on reproductive health outcomes and policies must change to promote equitable access.

Implications: Delivery at a Catholic hospital is associated with an increased risk of short-interval pregnancy. Further attention from providers, researchers, and policymakers alike, is necessary to identify the mechanisms through which these differences manifest such that effective interventions can be developed.

Keywords: Health equity; Religious restrictions; Reproductive health; Short-interval pregnancy.