The first medical manual specifically written for the treatment HIV-infected women has been released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Even more ominously, in the 32 states with confidential HIV reporting, adolescent and young women in the 13-24 age group make up more than half of the new cases of HIV infection. Pregnant immigrants more at risk, CDC says American Indian, Asian and Hispanic women are much more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, government researchers say. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the report highlights a gap in quality of prenatal care given to immigrant women.
Black women have the highest such risk of any racial or ethnic group.
Nearly 30 black women die for every 100,000 live births. That's a rate more than four times greater than white women, who suffer 7.3 deaths per 100,000 live births. American Indians and Alaska natives die from pregnancy complications at a rate of 12.2 per 100,000, the CDC said. The rate is 11.3 for Asians and Pacific Islanders and 10.3 for Hispanic women. The CDC's study covered 1991 to 1997, the latest year for which statistics are available.