Texas has some of the highest rates in the country of serious, and often life-threatening, complications of pregnancy and delivery. These include stillbirth, preterm birth, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia. This is especially alarming as pregnancy is a window of future health for both mothers and their children, and these complications increase risks of maternal death and subsequent morbidity throughout life for mother and child. In addition to health impacts, the societal and economic costs are staggering. Importantly, the causes of these outcomes are poorly understood and some are likely preventable.
The Program in Population and Environmental Health Disparities applies epidemiologic methods to identify the key drivers responsible for adverse maternal and child outcomes, with particular attention on how findings may inform behavioral, clinical, or policy interventions and thereby improve perinatal and child health. Our efforts are funded by multiple NIH-funded studies and supported by a large multi-disciplinary team of collaborators at several institutions (Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M, Texas Southern University, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston) who work together to improve the health and well-being of mothers and their families in Texas and beyond.
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