The cost of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy to the Australian healthcare system

Abstract In Australia, Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy are one of the leading causes of maternal death. Additionally, mothers and babies can experience significant morbidity associated with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. Currently, there is little understanding about the resources spent on this pregnancy complication in Australia. Therefore, using a linked administrative dataset from the Queensland population in Australia, this study aims to determine the difference in government expenditure between mothers that have Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and mothers who do not. The total government expenditure on mothers that had HDP was significantly higher than in mothers who did not have HDP ($14,388 and $11,395 respectively). Most notably, the greatest difference in costs were experienced during the time of birth ($8696 and $6509).