O-32 A review of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy between January 2023 and December 2023 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados
Author(s):
B Lawrence, H Harewood
Year of Presentation:
2026
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of hypertensive
disorders in pregnancy (HDP)and the associated risk factors among women in Barbados between January 2023 and
December 2023
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted by systematically sampling every sixth patient records from the labour and delivery admissions book at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados between January 2023 to December 2023. Sociodemographic and maternal characteristics were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Most women were Black (90%) with a mean maternal age of 27 years (SD 6.2; 95% CI 25.9–28.2) and mean maternal BMI of 28.8 (SD 7.0; 95% CI 27.3–30.2). The prevalence of HDPs was 14.8% among 115 mothers included in the study with intrapartum preeclampsia (IP) accounting for 76.5% of HDPs with a mean onset at 35.5 weeks of pregnancy (SD 3.4; 95% CI 33.5–37.6). Significant associations were found between nulliparity (chi2 p-value 0.039, fisher’s p-value 0.054), and chronic hypertension (chi2 p-value 0.001, fisher’s p-value 0.012). Risk factors with increased odds of HDP were: anaemia (OR 2.37; p=0.334; 95% CI .411–13.7), women aged 15–19 (OR 1.67; p=0.753; 95% CI .0734-36.9), obesity (OR 2.1; p=0.417; 95% CI .357–11.9), nulliparity (OR 2.94; p=0.478; 95% .1485- 58.4), primigravida (OR 5.76; p=0.253; 95% CI .2860–116.1), post-secondary education (OR 1.53 p=0.045, 95% CI: 1.0–2.3).
Conclusion: The prevalence of HDP among pregnant women at the QEH between January 2023 and December 2023 is high compared to high-income countries.