According to the most recent CDC data, blood pressure-related complications are some of the primary contributors to maternal mortality. Even when not fatal, they can lead to cardiovascular issues and other problems in the long term if not properly managed.
If not caught in time, blood pressure complications can increase the likelihood of a preterm birth, emergency C-section, or worse -- not to mention the negative impact on cost of care.
That 6% trigger rate represents over a thousand instances where a preventable negative outcome could have turned fatal, had it not been for Babyscripts' alert system triggering an intervention protocol.
Hypertension has become an increasingly problematic issue for pregnant and postpartum mothers. While typically more prevalent in geriatric pregnancies, new research shows that after taking age into account, women having babies now are about twice as likely to develop hypertension in pregnancy than women from the baby boom generation, which is further tied to a generational decline in heart health.
According to another study, one in 10 women who develop hypertension as a result of pregnancy might not experience it until more than six weeks after childbirth, the typical end of standard postpartum care. This has motivated industry leaders to push for making remote BP management the standard of care through the prenatal period and up through one year postpartum.
These results from the MemorialCare and Babyscripts collaboration show the benefit of patients using remote digital solutions to manage and monitor their care from home. Mostly captured during the pandemic, these data represent the value of having a remote digital safety net to capture vital data even without in-person care, including synchronous video visits.