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PubMed2001

Multicenter study of obstetric admissions to 14 intensive care units in southern England.

OBJECTIVES: To identify pregnant and postpartum patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), the cause for their admission, and the proportion that might be appropriately managed in a high-dependency environment (HDU) by using an existing database. To estimate the goodness-of-fit for the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, and the APACHE III scoring systems in the obstetrical population. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of demographic, diagnostic, treatment, and severity of illness data. SETTING: Fourteen ICUs in Southern England. PATIENTS: Pregnant or postpartum (<42 days) admissions between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1996. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We identified 210 patients, constituting 1.84% (210 of 11,385) of all ICU admissions and 0.17% (210 of 122,850) of all deliveries. Most admissions followed postpartum complications (hypertensive disease of pregnancy [39.5%] and major hemorrhage [33.3%]). Seven women were transferred to specialist ICUs. There was considerable variation between ICUs with respect to the number and type of interventions required by patients. Some 35.7% of patients stayed in ICU for <2 days and received no specific ICU interventions; these patients might have been safely managed in an HDU. There were seven maternal deaths (3.3%); fetal mortality rate was 20%. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve and the standardized mortality ratio were 0.92 (confidence interval [CI], 0.85-0.99) and 0.43 for the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, 0.94 (CI, 0.86-1.0) and 0.24 for APACHE II, and 0.98 (CI, 0.96-1.0) and 0.43 for APACHE III, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Existing databases can both identify critically ill obstetrical patients and provide important information about them. Obstetrical ICU admissions often require minimal intervention and are associated with low mortality rates. Many might be more appropriately managed in an HDU. The commonly used severity of illness scoring systems are good discriminators of outcome from intensive care admission in this group but may overestimate mortality rates. Severity of illness scoring systems may require modification in obstetrical patients to adjust for the normal physiologic responses to pregnancy.

APACHE↗

PubMed1997

Obstetric complications in autism: consequences or causes of the condition?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether and why obstetric complications are associated with autism. METHOD: Obstetric histories, obtained at maternal interview and coded as an optimality score (OS), were compared in two groups: 78 families containing an autistic proband (ICD-10 criteria) and 27 families containing a down syndrome (DS) proband. The OS was examined in relation to offspring diagnosis, proband characteristics, and familial loading for autism and its phenotypic variants. RESULTS: Autistic and DS probands had a significantly elevated OS compared with unaffected siblings, regardless of birth order position. The elevation was mainly due to an increase in mild as opposed to severe obstetric adversities. In autistic probands, the OS was best predicted by familial loading for autism and its phenotypic variants, but in the absence of this measure by the number of autistic symptoms. Among siblings of autistic probands affected with autism or its variants, the OS was best predicted by the probands' OS, and in its absence, by the measure of familial loading. In DS probands and siblings the OS was associated with increased maternal age, although this did not account for the OS elevation in DS probands. CONCLUSIONS: Rather than playing any principal etiological role, the obstetric adversities associated with autism either represent an epiphenomenon of the condition or derive from some shared risk factor(s).

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

A new strategy of muscle transposition for treatment of shoulder deformity caused by obstetric brachial plexus palsy.

Cross-innervation (caused by misdirection of regenerated axons), muscular imbalance (caused by muscle paresis or earlier recovery), and growth are the three main causes of shoulder deformity due to obstetric brachial plexus palsy. If perioperative studies demonstrate the existence of muscle recovery by cross-innervation, a new strategy of muscle transposition to minimize the influence of cross-innervation is used. Release of antagonistic muscles (pectoralis major and teres major muscles) and augmentation of paretic muscles (transferring teres major to the infraspinatus muscle, reinserting both ends of the clavicular part of the pectoralis major muscle laterally) are performed for reconstruction. Since 1993, 29 patients having shoulder deformity caused by obstetric brachial plexus palsy underwent reconstruction utilizing this strategy of muscle transposition. The timing for the reconstruction was at an average of 8.5 years (range, 4 to 21 years). The average shoulder abduction following the muscle transposition was 151 degrees (i.e., average gain 104 percent, or 77 degrees) and that of external rotation was 72 degrees (average gain 200 percent, or 48 degrees). Compared with the patients who had no surgery for shoulder deformity caused by obstetric brachial plexus palsy and early nerve surgery for the infant obstetric brachial plexus palsy, the results of the strategy seem to be significantly impressive.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Ruptured uterus in a Nigerian community: a study of sociodemographic and obstetric risk factors.

BACKGROUND: Ruptured uterus is a common obstetric emergency in Nigeria, associated with high maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. There is a need for definitive identification of the risk factors to guide effective interventions to curb its scourge. OBJECTIVE: To identify the sociodemographic and obstetric risk factors for ruptured uterus in Benin City, Nigeria, and based on this, make appropriate recommendations toward curbing the incidence and morbidity and mortality associated with it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sociodemographic and obstetric variables in 51 women with ruptured uterus and 300 randomly selected hospital controls from the general obstetric population were compared. Fisher's exact test was used to determine statistical significance between proportions. RESULTS: The incidence of ruptured uterus was 1 in 426 deliveries. The risk factors found were low socioeconomic class (OR = 6.8, CI = 3.6-12.9), being unbooked for antenatal care (OR = 10.4, CI = 5.4-20.0), grand multiparity (OR = 8.7, CI = 4.0-19.1), and prolonged obstructed labor (OR = 35.3, CI = 15.3-81.6). CONCLUSION: Measures that promote education and economic empowerment of women and the utilization of modern antenatal care will reduce the prevalence of rupture of the uterus in the community.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Antenatal care in the capital city of Cambodia: current situation and impact on obstetric outcome.

AIMS: To analyze the situation of antenatal care (ANC) attendance in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, and the effect of ANC attendance on delivery and newborn outcome, in order to establish a strategy for ANC in the national reproductive health program in Cambodia. METHODS: This was a health facility-based retrospective cohort study. Background factors (education, household income, and parity) were obtained through interview, and obstetric information (cesarean section, low birth-weight, and maternal complications) were collected from the medical records of women who delivered during 1 month at all the public and private health facilities in Phnom Penh. Relations were analyzed between the number of ANC visits, background factors, and obstetric outcome. RESULTS: A total of 1204 responses were received from Phnom Penh residents, representing 84% of the estimated number of deliveries in the city. Of these, 89% were from public health facilities. Low educational level, low household income, and multiparity were risk factors for ANC attendance. There was no association between the number of ANC attendances and obstetric outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our study has shown that Phnom Penh residents have good access to ANC and delivery care. Low socioeconomic factors are risk factors to ANC. The number of ANC visits had no association with poor perinatal outcome, but further study on quality of ANC and its impact on obstetric outcome is needed. Within the limited resources, safe motherhood strategies need to be targeted to the rural area and to the poor in order to increase access to ANC and delivery care.

Cambodia↗

PubMed1994

Past obstetric history and risk of perinatal death in Jamaica.

Singleton survivors born to multigravidae in the whole island of Jamaica in 2 months (September-October 1986) were compared with singleton perinatal deaths occurring to multigravidae throughout the island in the 12-month period September 1986 to August 1987. Past obstetric history was obtained from the mothers using a structured questionnaire. Deaths were categorised using the Wigglesworth classification. Logistic regression was used to compare current outcomes in women who had had at least one previous pregnancy. Antepartum fetal deaths with (1) outcome of last pregnancy; (2) previous Caesarean section; (3) previous stillbirth; and (4) increasing gravidity. In the presence of these factors maternal age ceased to be statistically significant. Deaths from immaturity were strongly associated with the past obstetric history, with increased risks for pregnancies to mothers with a history of previous miscarriage, perinatal death and premature live births. In general, however, the higher the gravidity the lower the risk. In the presence of these factors, maternal age showed no significant association. Intrapartum asphyxia was also associated with the outcome of the last pregnancy, history of prior stillbirth or neonatal death. First pregnancies were at significantly higher risk than second pregnancies (P < 0.05). For perinatal deaths as a whole, and in the presence of maternal age, the following were statistically significant independent factors: (1) the outcome of the immediately preceding pregnancy (high risks associated with prior miscarriage, stillbirth and premature live births); (2) previous Caesarean section (increased risk); (3) previous perinatal deaths; and (4) more than one prior early fetal loss. The results indicated that prior poor obstetric history bears similar risks of subsequent adverse outcome in the developing as in the developed world. There was no variation in risk, however, with interpregnancy interval or previous termination. Much of the variation in risk of perinatal death with maternal age among multigravidae appears largely to be secondary to past obstetric history.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMed2006

Solvent-detergent plasma: use in neonatal patients, in adult and paediatric patients with liver disease and in obstetric and gynaecological emergencies.

The study was conducted to assess the efficacy and tolerance of solvent-detergent (SD) plasma in neonates, in obstetric and gynaecological patients and in patients with liver disease in three large hospitals in Dublin during the period 1 April 2002 (when SD plasma was introduced) through 31 October 2003. Forty-one neonates received 67 transfusions of SD plasma at a mean dose +/- standard deviation of 18.4 +/- 13.2 mL kg(-1). Thirty-one (75.6%) patients had coagulopathy without haemorrhage (either disseminated intravascular coagulopathy or other coagulopathy); a further eight (19.5%) had clinical haemorrhage (excluding intraventricular haemorrhage), which complicated a coagulopathy. Thirty-eight obstetric and gynaecological patients received 57 SD plasma transfusions at a mean dose of 15.3 +/- 7.7 mL kg(-1). Thirty-six women (94.7%) had haemorrhage with mean blood loss per patient of 3345.8 +/- 2738.1 mL. Fifteen children with liver disease received 33 SD plasma transfusions at a mean volume of 38.0 +/- 41.5 mL kg(-1) body weight. Seventeen adult patients with severe end-stage liver disease were transfused with SD plasma either following liver transplantation or prior to other invasive procedures, at a mean dose of 10.2 +/- 3.4 mL kg(-1). There were statistically significant decreases in mean activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time in neonates, in obstetric and gynaecological patients and in patients with liver disease. Complete correction of coagulation parameters was not achieved in any case in the liver transplant group. No adverse reactions were observed for SD plasma infusion. Use of SD plasma in critically ill neonates, in women with obstetric and gynaecological emergencies and in patients with liver disease appears safe, and improves laboratory indices of coagulopathy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Emergency hysterectomy in obstetrics: review of 15 years.

A total of 140 patients underwent emergency obstetric hysterectomy at Smt Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, New Delhi, India, over a 15-year period between 1976 to 1990. Rupture of uterus and obstetric hemorrhage were two major indications for obstetric hysterectomy. Maternal mortality occurred in 18 i.e. 12.8% of the cases. Hemorrhage was leading cause of maternal death. While major degree of placenta praevia was responsible for 39.3% of obstetric hemorrhage, it contributed to nearly 40% of maternal deaths. Fifty percent of placenta praevia cases had morbid adhesions of placenta, associated with previous cesarean section. Hence patients of previous cesarean section with placenta praevia should be operated by experienced obstetricians keeping plenty of blood ready.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Emergency obstetric hysterectomies for postpartum haemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To review emergency obstetric hysterectomy in our unit, including the indications for and morbidity associated with the procedure. DESIGN: A retrospective cases analysis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Records of obstetric patients who had undergone emergency hysterectomies in between 15 October 1993 and 31 December 1997 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: There were 15,474 deliveries and 7 emergency obstetric hysterectomies. All cases had total abdominal hysterectomy. The indications for hysterectomy were uterine atony and placental disorders. There were one case of urinary bladder injury and 2 cases of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. There was no maternal mortality. CONCLUSION: Emergency obstetric hysterectomy remains a potentially life-saving procedure in unavoidable catastrophe. The 7 patients with life threatening postpartum haemorrhage underwent hysterectomy after failure of conservative measures. The morbidity is low and there was no mortality in this series.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Reproductive risk factors, pregnancy characteristics and obstetric outcome in female doctors.

OBJECTIVES: To compare maternal risk factors, pregnancy characteristics and outcome in female doctors, teachers, and the general obstetric population. DESIGN: We analysed obstetric outcomes among 331 female doctors and 656 teachers with singleton pregnancies who gave birth at Kuopio University Hospital from March 1989 to December 2000. The general obstetric population (n = 21,997) was selected as the reference group and logistic regression analysis was used to assess pregnancy outcomes in each group separately. RESULTS: Reproductive risk factors among female doctors and teachers were similar to those in the general obstetric population with the exception of advanced maternal age, number of previous terminations, marital status, maternal smoking, obesity, infertility treatment and pre-eclampsia. Interestingly, the number of operative deliveries did not vary between the groups. Pregnancy outcome among doctors and teachers was comparable with that in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: Although doctors and teachers appear to represent a group of health-conscious women, obstetricians do not vary their management of pregnant doctors and teachers during pregnancy and labour.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Emergency obstetric care in developing countries: impact of guidelines implementation in a community hospital in Senegal.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, with volunteer professionals in a resource-poor setting, an approach of audit and feedback to promote local implementation of emergency obstetric guidelines. DESIGN: Triple cohort observational time series study. SETTING: A 46-bed obstetric unit in an academic-affiliated community hospital in Senegal. POPULATION: All pregnant women with haemorrhagic and hypertensive complications who were admitted to the maternity unit during the study periods. METHODS: To assess the benefits of guidelines implementation, maternal outcomes during the intervention period were compared with those occurring in two one-year periods when staff daily supervision was the main potentially effective action on clinical management. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The intervention strategy was criteria-based audits with regular feedback over a one-year period. The clinical focus was haemorrhage and hypertension the most frequent causes of maternal death in the study population. Hospital charts were audited by external reviewers. The primary outcome was the case fatality rate (CFR) among patients with haemorrhage and hypertension. RESULTS: There was an increase in morbidity diagnoses during the intervention period. In addition, there was a marked increase in obstetric interventions, especially for transfusions and caesarean deliveries. Patients characteristic-adjusted case fatality decreased by 53% between baselines I and II and during the intervention period by 33% and 24%, compared with baseline periods I and II, respectively. Outcome improvements were different for haemorrhage and hypertension. CONCLUSION: While staff daily supervision may have improved maternal outcome before the intervention period, audit and feedback produced marked effects on emergency obstetric care, specially for complications requiring highly trained management (e.g. pre-eclampsia). Audit and feedback are one of the potentially effective guidelines implementation strategies that should be considered for further studies in resource-poor health facilities.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Factors associated with the awareness and practice of evidence-based obstetric care in an African setting.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors associated with important (> or =50%) variation in awareness and practice of evidence-based obstetric interventions in an African setting where we have previously reported poor awareness and use of evidence-based reproductive interventions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of data from our Reproductive Health Interventions Study. SETTING: North-west province, Cameroon, Africa. POPULATION: Health workers including obstetricians, other physicians, midwives, nurses and other staff providing reproductive care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence ratios (PR) of uniform awareness and practice of four key evidence-based obstetric interventions from the World Health Organization Reproductive Health Library (WHO RHL): antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, antenatal corticosteroids for prematurity, uterotonics to prevent postpartum haemorrhage and magnesium sulphate for seizure prophylaxis. METHODS: Comparisons of descriptive covariates, applying logistic regression to estimate independent relationships with awareness and use of evidence-based interventions. RESULTS: A total of 15.5% (50/322) of health workers were aware of all the four interventions while only 3.8% (12/312) reported optimal practice. Evidence-based awareness was strongly associated with practice (PR = 15.4; 96% CI: 4.3-55.0). Factors significantly associated with awareness were: attending continuing education, access to the WHO RHL, employment as an obstetrician/gynaecologist and working in autonomous military or National Insurance Fund facilities. Controlling for potential confounding, working as an obstetrician was associated with increased awareness (adjusted prevalence odds ratio [aPOR] = 8.3; 95% CI: 1.3-53.8) as was median work experience of 5-15 years (aPOR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.0-3.8). Internet access was associated with increased practice (aPOR = 3.4; 95% CI: 1.0-11.8). Other potentially important variations were observed, although they did not attain statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Several factors including obstetric training and continuous education positively influence evidence-based awareness and practice of key obstetric interventions. Confirmation and application of this information may enhance the effectiveness of programmes to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Obstetric and perinatal outcomes in pregnancies associated with illicit substance abuse.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the obstetric and perinatal outcomes of women using illicit drugs during pregnancy by substance group. METHOD: A retrospective audit of obstetric and perinatal outcomes in women who used opiates or amphetamines during their pregnancy and delivered at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH), Perth, Australia between December 1997 and April 2000 was performed. Maternal, fetal and neonatal parameters were assessed. These were compared with obstetric and perinatal data recorded by the Health Department of Western Australia (HDWA) for the 25,291 deliveries of 25,677 infants in 1998. RESULTS: Between December 1997 and April 2000 91 opiate-using and 50 amphetamine-using women were identified and included in the analysis. Both groups of drug-using women were younger (opiates P = 0.001, amphetamines P = 0.001) than the general population. There was a higher incidence of aboriginality (P = 0.001) in the amphetamine group. In the opiate-using group multiparity (P = 0.0001) and anaemia (P = 0.0001) were higher. Illicit drug-using women had a higher incidence of hepatitis C (opiates P = 0.001, amphetamines P = 0.003), and a greater need for pharmacological analgesia for labour and delivery (opiates P = 0.007, amphetamines P = 0.042). Their infants were significantly more likely to deliver at less than 37 weeks' gestation (opiates P = 0.0001, amphetamines P = 0.001), to have a birthweight of less than 2.5 kg (P = 0.0001), be small for gestational age and require admission to the special care nursery (P = 0.0001). Infants born to women in the amphetamine group were more likely to have an Apgar score < 7 (P = 0.0001) recorded. Infants of women in the opiate group required more resuscitation (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Women who use illicit drugs are more likely to experience adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes than women in the general population. Differences are seen depending on the type of illicit drug used. These findings need to be replicated in a larger prospective cohort to highlight management requirements of these women and their infants. Further information is required about the effects of amphetamines in pregnancy.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Use of health professionals for obstetric care in northern Ghana.

This study explores the role of access versus traditional beliefs in the decision to seek obstetric care from health professionals. Eighteen purposively sampled homogenous groups in Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana participated in focus-group discussions about traditional beliefs, barriers to the use of health professionals, and ways to improve obstetric care. All the groups were knowledgeable about the life-threatening signs and symptoms of complications of pregnancy and labor. Decisions about place of delivery generally were made after the onset of labor. Accessibility factors (cost, distance, transport, availability of health facilities, and nurses' attitudes) were major barriers, whereas traditional beliefs were reported as less significant. Informants made pertinent recommendations on how to improve obstetric services in the district. These findings demonstrate that even in this district, where African traditional religion is practiced by a third of the population, compared with a national average of 4 percent, lack of access was perceived as the main barrier to seeking professional obstetric care.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Obstetric MR pelvimetry: reference values and evaluation of inter- and intraobserver error and intraindividual variability.

PURPOSE: To establish obstetric magnetic resonance (MR) pelvimetric reference values in a large study population and stratify them according to delivery modality and to determine the intra- and interobserver error and intraindividual variability of MR pelvimetric assessment in volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR pelvimetric data were retrospectively reviewed in 781 women (mean age, 28.9 years +/- 5.2 [SD]) clinically referred, and the data were correlated to obstetric history to derive normative values. Five observers assessed results of multiple MR pelvimetric examinations in 10 female volunteers (mean age, 34.7 years +/- 6.0; eight nullipara, two primipara) to provide data for measurement error analysis. RESULTS: All values were higher in the spontaneous vaginal delivery subgroup (n = 100) and lower in the cesarean section or vacuum extraction subgroup (n = 130; intersubgroup difference, P <.001, Mann-Whitney U test). Pelvimetric parameters in the group undergoing spontaneous vaginal delivery were as follows: obstetric conjugate, 121.7 mm +/- 8.6; interspinous distance, 112.3 mm +/- 7.9; intertuberous distance, 120.6 mm +/- 11.3; transverse diameter, 129.5 mm +/- 8.7; and sagittal outlet, 115.8 mm +/- 9.9. In the volunteer study, intraobserver, interobserver, and intraindividual reliabilities were high for the obstetric conjugate (0.94-0.96), interspinous distance (0.92-0.95), and transverse diameter (0.95-0.98) but low for intertuberous distance (0.64-0.87) and sagittal outlet (0.66-0.85). CONCLUSION: Pelvimetric dimensions are smaller in women undergoing cesarean section or vacuum extraction than they are in those delivering vaginally. The pelvimetric parameters associated with the largest measurement errors are intertuberous distance and sagittal outlet.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Drug therapy and adverse drug reactions to terbutaline in obstetric patients: a prospective cohort study in hospitalized women.

BACKGROUND: Adverse drug reactions (ADR's) could be expected more frequently in pregnant women. This study was performed in order to identify ADR's to tocolytic drugs in hospitalised pregnant women. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed in two General Hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) in Mexico City. Two hundred and seven women undergoing labor, premature labor, threatened abortion or suffering any obstetric related disease were included. Drug prescription and signs and symptoms of any potential ADR were registered daily during the hospital stay. Any potential ADR to tocolytic drugs was evaluated and classified by three of the authors using the Kramer's algorithm. RESULTS: Of the 207 patients, an ADR was positively classified in 25 cases (12.1%, CI95% 8.1 to 17.5%). All ADR's were classified as minor reactions. Grouping patients with diagnosis of threatened abortion, premature labor or under labor (n= 114), 24 ADR's were related to terbutaline, accounting for a rate of 21.1 ADR's per 100 obstetric patients. Obstetric patients suffering an ADR were older than obstetric patients without any ADR. However, the former received less drugs/day x patient-1 and had a shorter hospital stay (p < 0.05) whereas the dose of terbutaline was similar between the two groups. Terbutaline inhibited uterine motility in women with and without any ADR at a similar rate, 70 and 76% respectively (x2 = 0.07; p = 0.8). CONCLUSION: Terbutaline, used as a tocolytic drug, was related to a high frequency of minor ADRs and to a high rate of effcicacy.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

"Near-miss" obstetric events and maternal deaths in Sagamu, Nigeria: a retrospective study.

AIM: To determine the frequency of near-miss (severe acute maternal morbidity) and the nature of near-miss events, and comparatively analysed near-miss morbidities and maternal deaths among pregnant women managed over a 3-year period in a Nigerian tertiary centre. METHODS: Retrospective facility-based review of cases of near-miss and maternal death which occurred between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2004. Near-miss case definition was based on validated disease-specific criteria, comprising of five diagnostic categories: haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, dystocia, infection and anaemia. The near-miss morbidities were compared with maternal deaths with respect to demographic features and disease profiles. Mortality indices were determined for various disease processes to appreciate the standard of care provided for life-threatening obstetric conditions. The maternal death to near-miss ratios for the three years were compared to assess the trend in the quality of obstetric care. RESULTS: There were 1501 deliveries, 211 near-miss cases and 44 maternal deaths. The total near-miss events were 242 with a decreasing trend from 2002 to 2004. Demographic features of cases of near-miss and maternal death were comparable. Besides infectious morbidity, the categories of complications responsible for near-misses and maternal deaths followed the same order of decreasing frequency. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and haemorrhage were responsible for 61.1% of near-miss cases and 50.0% of maternal deaths. More women died after developing severe morbidity due to uterine rupture and infection, with mortality indices of 37.5% and 28.6%, respectively. Early pregnancy complications and antepartum haemorrhage had the lowest mortality indices. Majority of the cases of near-miss (82.5%) and maternal death (88.6%) were unbooked for antenatal care and delivery in this hospital. Maternal mortality ratio for the period was 2931.4 per 100,000 deliveries. The overall maternal death to near-miss ratio was 1: 4.8 and this remained relatively constant over the 3-year period. CONCLUSION: The quality of care received by critically ill obstetric patients in this centre is suboptimal with no evident changes between 2002 and 2004. Reduction of the present maternal mortality ratio may best be achieved by developing evidence-based protocols and improving the resources for managing severe morbidities due to hypertension and haemorrhage especially in critically ill unbooked patients. Tertiary care hospitals in Nigeria could also benefit from evaluation of their standard of obstetric care by including near-miss investigations in their maternal death enquiries.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1993

Increasing obstetrical care access to the rural poor.

Rising malpractice insurance rates have led to a decrease in the number of physicians who provide rural obstetrical care. North Carolina has responded with the Rural Obstetrical Care Incentive (ROCI) Program, which provides up to $6,500 per year to physicians who provide obstetrical care to the rural poor in conjunction with a local health department. This study finds some evidence that the program has led to an increase in the satisfaction that physician participants feel toward the prenatal care available at the local health department; that participants are increasing their provision of obstetrical care to Medicaid patients compared to other physicians in the state; and that the percentage of women delivering after receiving inadequate prenatal care is decreasing in the original ROCI counties, at a time when other rural counties are experiencing an increase in this measure. Other states should consider the ROCI program as one aspect of a rural health strategy.

Female↗