Masters Thesis

Indicators of high risk pregnancies: a study of Fresno County pregnancies

The problem that needed to be addressed was the determination of criteria which would identify "high risk" pregnancies in Fresno County. The criteria also had to have the characteristics of being easily accessible, cheaply available, and currently up-to-date. One source of information about pregnancies was the vital statistics records, specifically live birth and fetal death certificates. The certificates were easily accessible, as the Hearth Department registers all such certificates on events that occur in Fresno. The certificates were available for this purpose at no cost, since an established registration system currently existed. Also, the information was as up-to-date as possible, as these records concern events that occurred in the year of registration. Numerous separate categories of information appear on birth and fetal death certificates. Nine of these categories were chosen for study. The reasons for their selection were that they were common between the two types of certificates and they were considered possible indicators by authorities in the field. The question asked about each category was: "Is it an indicator of problem pregnancies in Fresno?" Answers to this question provided a list of "high risk" indicators. The statistical technique employed in this study involved dividing all reported pregnancies into two groups: one where problems had developed, and one where no problems had developed. The two groups were then sampled. Data on the nine categories was tabulated for each group. The data was then tested against the same category in the opposite group to determine if a statistically significant difference existed.

Items in ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.