Maternal and perinatal outcomes by planned place of birth in Australia 2000 - 2012: a linked population data study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare perinatal and maternal outcomes for Australian women with uncomplicated pregnancies according to planned place of birth, that is, in hospital labour wards, birth centres or at home. DESIGN: A population-based retrospective design, linking and analysing routinely collected electronic data. Analysis comprised χ2 tests and binary logistic regression for categorical data, yielding adjusted ORs. Continuous data were analysed using analysis of variance. SETTING: All eight Australian states and territories. PARTICIPANTS: Women with uncomplicated pregnancies who gave birth between 2000 and 2012 to a singleton baby in cephalic presentation at between 37 and 41 completed weeks' gestation. Of the 1 251 420 births, 1 171 703 (93.6%) were planned in hospital labour wards, 71 505 (5.7%) in birth centres and 8212 (0.7%) at home. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mode of birth, normal labour and birth, interventions and procedures during labour and birth, maternal complications, admission to special care/high dependency or intensive care units (mother or infant) and perinatal mortality (intrapartum stillbirth and neonatal death). RESULTS: Compared with planned hospital births, the odds of normal labour and birth were over twice as high in planned birth centre births (adjusted OR (AOR) 2.72; 99% CI 2.63 to 2.81) and nearly six times as high in planned home births (AOR 5.91; 99% CI 5.15 to 6.78). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportion of intrapartum stillbirths, early or late neonatal deaths between the three planned places of birth. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first Australia-wide study to examine outcomes by planned place of birth. For healthy women in Australia having an uncomplicated pregnancy, planned births in birth centres or at home are associated with positive maternal outcomes although the number of homebirths was small overall. There were no significant differences in the perinatal mortality rate, although the absolute numbers of deaths were very small and therefore firm conclusions cannot be drawn about perinatal mortality outcomes.

Asking different questions: A call to action for research to improve the quality of care for every woman, every child.

Despite decades of considerable economic investment in improving the health of families and newborns world-wide, aspirations for maternal and newborn health have yet to be attained in many regions. The global turn toward recognizing the importance of positive experiences of pregnancy, intrapartum and postnatal care, and care in the first weeks of life, while continuing to work to minimize adverse outcomes, signals a critical change in the maternal and newborn health care conversation and research prioritization. This paper presents "different research questions" drawing on evidence presented in the 2014 Lancet Series on Midwifery and a research prioritization study conducted with the World Health Organization. The results indicated that future research investment in maternal and newborn health should be on "right care," which is quality care that is tailored to individuals, weighs benefits and harms, is person-centered, works across the whole continuum of care, advances equity, and is informed by evidence, including cost-effectiveness. Three inter-related research themes were identified: examination and implementation of models of care that enhance both well-being and safety; investigating and optimizing physiological, psychological, and social processes in pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period; and development and validation of outcome measures that capture short and longer term well-being. New, transformative research approaches should account for the underlying social and political-economic mechanisms that enhance or constrain the well-being of women, newborns, families, and societies. Investment in research capacity and capability building across all settings is critical, but especially in those countries that bear the greatest burden of poor outcomes. We believe this call to action for investment in the three research priorities identified in this paper has the potential to achieve these benefits and to realize the ambitions of Sustainable Development Goal Three of good health and well-being for all.

Maternal and perinatal outcomes by planned place of birth among women with low-risk pregnancies in high-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The comparative safety of different birth settings is widely debated. Comparing research across high-income countries is complex, given differences in maternity service provision, data discrepancies, and varying research techniques and quality. Studies of births planned at home or in birth centres have reported both better and poorer outcomes than planned hospital births. Previous systematic reviews have focused on outcomes from either birth centres or home births, with inconsistent attention to quality appraisal. Few have attempted to synthesise findings. OBJECTIVE: To compare maternal and perinatal outcomes from different places of birth via a systematic review of high-quality research, and meta-analysis of appropriate data (Prospero registration CRD42016042291). DESIGN: Reviewers searched CINAHL, Embase, Maternity and Infant Care, Medline and PsycINFO databases to identify studies comparing selected outcomes by place of birth among women with low-risk pregnancies in high-income countries. They critically appraised identified studies using an instrument specific to birth place research and then combined outcome data via meta-analysis, using RevMan software. FINDINGS: Twenty-eight articles met inclusion criteria, yielding comparative data on perinatal mortality, mode of birth, maternal morbidity and/or NICU admissions. Meta-analysis indicated that women planning hospital births had statistically significantly lower odds of normal vaginal birth than in other planned settings. Women experienced severe perineal trauma or haemorrhage at a lower rate in planned home births than in obstetric units. There were no statistically significant differences in infant mortality by planned place of birth, although most studies had limited statistical power to detect differences for rare outcomes. Differences in location, context, quality and design of identified studies render results subject to variation. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: High-quality evidence about low-risk pregnancies indicates that place of birth had no statistically significant impact on infant mortality. The lower odds of maternal morbidity and obstetric intervention support the expansion of birth centre and home birth options for women with low-risk pregnancies.

Putting intelligent structured intermittent auscultation (ISIA) into practice.

BACKGROUND: Fetal monitoring guidelines recommend intermittent auscultation for the monitoring of fetal wellbeing during labour for low-risk women. However, these guidelines are not being translated into practice and low-risk women birthing in institutional maternity units are increasingly exposed to continuous cardiotocographic monitoring, both on admission to hospital and during labour. When continuous fetal monitoring becomes routinised, midwives and obstetricians lose practical skills around intermittent auscultation. To support clinical practice and decision-making around auscultation modality, the intelligent structured intermittent auscultation (ISIA) framework was developed. AIM: The purpose of this discussion paper is to describe the application of intelligent structured intermittent auscultation in practice. DISCUSSION: The intelligent structured intermittent auscultation decision-making framework is a knowledge translation tool that supports the implementation of evidence into practice around the use of intermittent auscultation for fetal heart monitoring for low-risk women during labour. An understanding of the physiology of the materno-utero-placental unit and control of the fetal heart underpin the development of the framework. CONCLUSION: Intelligent structured intermittent auscultation provides midwives with a robust means of demonstrating their critical thinking and clinical reasoning and supports their understanding of normal physiological birth.

Gestational weight change in women attending a group antenatal program aimed at addressing obesity in pregnancy in New South Wales, Australia.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of obesity in Australia among women of childbearing age has doubled over the past 2 decades. Obesity is associated with complications for women and their newborns during pregnancy and birth. Limiting gestational weight gain can reduce perinatal complications and postnatal weight retention, but evidence supporting interventions designed to assist obese pregnant women to manage their weight gain in pregnancy is inconclusive. The aim of this article is to describe the gestational weight change of a cohort of obese pregnant women enrolled in a group antenatal program aimed at assisting them to limit their weight gain in pregnancy to levels recommended by the US Institute of Medicine. METHODS: The program was jointly developed by 2 metropolitan maternity services in New South Wales, Australia. This is a descriptive study that presents select data for women enrolled in the program. Body mass index (BMI), prepregnancy weight, last pregnancy weight, and selected clinical outcomes were recorded for 82 obese women enrolled in the program during the evaluation period of 14 months. Data were analyzed using nonparametric tests: the chi-square and the Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: Parity was associated with prepregnancy BMI, with women of higher parity having higher BMIs. Women with higher BMIs had a significantly lower gestational weight gain than women with lower BMIs. Overall, 27% of women enrolled in the program gained the recommended 5 to 9 kg, 27% gained less than this amount, and 46% gained more. DISCUSSION: Evidence supporting interventions designed to assist obese pregnant women to manage their weight gain in pregnancy is lacking. This innovative, collaborative program shows promise, as early results compare favorably with international comparisons.

Birthplace in New South Wales, Australia: an analysis of perinatal outcomes using routinely collected data.

BACKGROUND: The outcomes for women who give birth in hospital compared with at home are the subject of ongoing debate. We aimed to determine whether a retrospective linked data study using routinely collected data was a viable means to compare perinatal and maternal outcomes and interventions in labour by planned place of birth at the onset of labour in one Australian state. METHODS: A population-based cohort study was undertaken using routinely collected linked data from the New South Wales Perinatal Data Collection, Admitted Patient Data Collection, Register of Congenital Conditions, Registry of Birth Deaths and Marriages and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Eight years of data provided a sample size of 258,161 full-term women and their infants. The primary outcome was a composite outcome of neonatal mortality and morbidity as used in the Birthplace in England study. RESULTS: Women who planned to give birth in a birth centre or at home were significantly more likely to have a normal labour and birth compared with women in the labour ward group. There were no statistically significant differences in stillbirth and early neonatal deaths between the three groups, although we had insufficient statistical power to test reliably for these differences. CONCLUSION: This study provides information to assist the development and evaluation of different places of birth across Australia. It is feasible to examine perinatal and maternal outcomes by planned place of birth using routinely collected linked data, although very large data sets will be required to measure rare outcomes associated with place of birth in a low risk population, especially in countries like Australia where homebirth rates are low.

Intelligent Structured Intermittent Auscultation (ISIA): evaluation of a decision-making framework for fetal heart monitoring of low-risk women.

BACKGROUND: Research-informed fetal monitoring guidelines recommend intermittent auscultation (IA) for fetal heart monitoring for low-risk women. However, the use of cardiotocography (CTG) continues to dominate many institutional maternity settings. METHODS: A mixed methods intervention study with before and after measurement was undertaken in one secondary level health service to facilitate the implementation of an initiative to encourage the use of IA. The intervention initiative was a decision-making framework called Intelligent Structured Intermittent Auscultation (ISIA) introduced through an education session. RESULTS: Following the intervention, medical records review revealed an increase in the use of IA during labour represented by a relative change of 12%, with improved documentation of clinical findings from assessments, and a significant reduction in the risk of receiving an admission CTG (RR 0.75, 95% CI, 0.60-0.95, p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: The ISIA informed decision-making framework transformed the practice of IA and provided a mechanism for knowledge translation that enabled midwives to implement evidence-based fetal heart monitoring for low risk women.

Publicly funded homebirth in Australia: a review of maternal and neonatal outcomes over 6 years.

OBJECTIVE: To report maternal and neonatal outcomes for Australian women planning a publicly funded homebirth from 2005 to 2010. DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Retrospective analysis of data on women who planned a homebirth and on their babies. Data for 2005-2010 (or from the commencement of a program to 2010) were requested from the 12 publicly funded homebirth programs in place at the time. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maternal outcomes (mortality; place and mode of birth; perineal trauma; type of management of the third stage of labour; postpartum haemorrhage; transfer to hospital); and neonatal outcomes (early mortality; Apgar score at 5 minutes; birthweight; breastfeeding initially and at 6 weeks; significant morbidity; transfer to hospital; admission to a special care nursery). RESULTS: Nine publicly funded homebirth programs in Australia provided data accounting for 97% of births in these programs during the period studied. Of the 1807 women who intended to give birth at home at the onset of labour, 1521 (84%) did so. 315 (17%) were transferred to hospital during labour or within one week of giving birth. The rate of stillbirth and early neonatal death was 3.3 per 1000 births; when deaths because of expected fetal anomalies were excluded it was 1.7 per 1000 births. The rate of normal vaginal birth was 90%. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first national evaluation of a significant proportion of women choosing publicly funded homebirth in Australia; however, the sample size does not have sufficient power to draw a conclusion about safety. More research is warranted into the safety of alternative places of birth within Australia.

'It's more than just having a baby' women's experiences of a maternity service for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

OBJECTIVE: the Malabar Community Midwifery Link Service was developed to meet the needs of women from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in suburban Sydney, Australia. This paper reports the evaluation from the perspective of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who accessed the service. METHODS: a descriptive study using quantitative and qualitative approaches was undertaken for the first two years of the service. Clinical outcomes for women who gave birth in 2007 and 2008 were collected prospectively. A focus group with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women was conducted, then tape recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed qualitatively. FINDINGS: 353 women gave birth through the Malabar service during 2007 and 2008. Over 40% of the babies born were identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Almost all the women had their first antenatal visit before 20 weeks of pregnancy. The service was successful in reducing the number of women smoking cigarettes during pregnancy. Women felt the service provided ease of access, continuity of care and caregiver, trust and trusting relationships. CONCLUSIONS: the Malabar service is an excellent example of a primary health care model of care that is meeting the needs of the community. Improving maternal and neonatal outcomes takes considerable time as the underlying causes of the disparities are complex. IMPLICATIONS: further research into ways to ensure that services like Malabar can address issues like smoking in pregnancy and the range of social and emotional issues faced by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families needs to be undertaken. More community-based appropriate services should be developed for these families.

Addressing obesity in pregnancy: the design and feasibility of an innovative intervention in NSW, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity amongst women of child bearing age is increasing at an unprecedented, rate throughout the Western world. This paper describes the design of an innovative, collaborative, antenatal intervention that aims to assist women to manage their weight during pregnancy and, presents aspects of the programme evaluation. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: The programme was introduced at two sites, one in South East Sydney and, the other on the Central North Coast of NSW. Data were drawn from both sites and pooled for analysis. STUDY DESIGN: This evaluation used mixed methods drawing on qualitative and quantitative data. DATA COLLECTION METHODS: Focus groups were held with staff in the antenatal clinic, who were, responsible for recruiting to the new service. Members of staff were also asked to record BMI for all women offered the service and using a simple questionnaire, record the reasons women gave for declining the new service. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: The recruitment rate to the new service was 35% though this result should be treated with caution. Those women with a BMI of >35 were twice as likely to elect to participate in the new service as women with a BMI of less than 35. Focus groups with midwives in the antenatal clinic responsible for recruitment identified three themes impacting on recruitment to the service; 'finding the words', 'acknowledging challenges' and 'midwives' knowledge'. CONCLUSIONS: Antenatal clinic midwives were unprepared for talking to women about their weight. Increasing the confidence and skills of staff in offering service innovations to eligible women is a major challenge to be met if new models of care are to be successful in addressing overweight and obesity in pregnancy.

Publicly-funded homebirth models in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Publicly-funded homebirth programs in Australia have been developed in the past decade mostly in isolation from each other and with limited published evaluations. There is also distinct lack of publicly available information about the development and characteristics of these programs. We instigated the National Publicly-funded Homebirth Consortium and conducted a preliminary survey of publicly-funded homebirth providers. AIM: To outline the development of publicly-funded homebirth models in Australia. METHODS: Providers of publicly-funded homebirth programs in Australia were surveyed using an on-line survey in December 2010. Questions were about their development, use of policy and general operational issues. A descriptive analysis of the quantitative data and content analysis of the qualitative data was undertaken. FINDINGS: In total, 12 programs were identified and 10 contributed data to this paper. The service providers reported extensive multidisciplinary consultation and careful planning during development. There was a lack of consistency in data collection throughout the publicly-funded homebirth programs due to different databases, definitions and the use of different guidelines. DISCUSSION: Publicly-funded homebirth services followed different routes during their development, but essentially had safety and collaboration with stakeholders, including women and obstetricians, as central to their process. CONCLUSION: The National Publicly-funded Homebirth Consortium has facilitated a sharing of resources, processes of development and a linkage of homebirth services around the country. This analysis has provided information to assist future planning and developments in models of midwifery care. It is important that births of women booked to these programs are clearly identified when their data is incorporated into existing perinatal datasets.

Non-clinical interventions that increase the uptake and success of vaginal birth after caesarean section: a systematic review.

AIM: The aim of this study was to review non-clinical interventions that increase the uptake and/or the success rates of vaginal birth after caesarean section. BACKGROUND: Increases in rates of caesarean section are largely due to repeat caesarean section in a subsequent pregnancy. Concerns about vaginal birth after caesarean section have centred on the risk of uterine rupture. Nonetheless, efforts to increase the vaginal birth rate in these women have been made. This study reviews these in relation to non-clinical interventions. DATA SOURCES: Literature was searched up until December 2008 from five databases and a number of relevant professional websites. REVIEW METHODS: A systematic review of quantitative studies that evaluated a non-clinical intervention for increasing the uptake and/or the success of vaginal birth after caesarean section was undertaken. Only study designs that involved a comparison group were included. Further exclusions were imposed for quality using the Critical Skills Appraisal Programme. RESULTS: National guidelines influence vaginal birth after caesarean section rates, but a greater effect is seen when institutions develop local guidelines, adopt a conservative approach to caesarean section, use opinion leaders, give individualized information to women, and give feedback to obstetricians about mode of birth rates. Individual clinician characteristics may impact on the number of women choosing and succeeding in vaginal birth after caesarean section. There is inconsistent evidence that having private health insurance may be a barrier to the uptake and success of vaginal birth after caesarean section. CONCLUSION: Non-clinical factors can have a significant impact on vaginal birth after caesarean section uptake and success.

Clinical interventions that increase the uptake and success of vaginal birth after caesarean section: a systematic review.

AIM: The aim of this study was to review clinical interventions that increase the uptake and/or the success rates of vaginal birth after caesarean section. BACKGROUND: Repeat caesarean section is the main reason for the increase in surgical births. The risk of uterine rupture in women who have prior caesarean sections prevents many clinicians from recommending vaginal birth after caesarean. Despite this, support for vaginal birth after caesarean continues. DATA SOURCES: A search of five databases and a number of relevant professional websites was undertaken up to December 2008. REVIEW METHODS: A systematic review of quantitative studies that involved a comparison group and examined a clinical intervention for increasing the uptake and/or the success of vaginal birth after caesarean section was undertaken. An assessment of quality was made using the Critical Skills Appraisal Programme. RESULTS: Induction of labour using artificial rupture of membranes, prostaglandins, oxytocin infusion or a combination, was associated with lower vaginal birth rates. Cervical ripening agents such as prostaglandins and transcervical catheters may result in lower vaginal birth rates compared with spontaneous labour. The impact of epidural anaesthesia in labour on vaginal birth after caesarean success is inconclusive. X-ray pelvimetry is associated with reduced uptake of vaginal birth after caesarean and higher caesarean section rates. Scoring systems to predict likelihood of vaginal birth are largely unhelpful. There is insufficient data in relation to vaginal birth after caesarean section between different closure methods for the primary caesarean section. CONCLUSION: Clinical factors can affect vaginal birth after caesarean uptake and success.

Testing the Birth Unit Design Spatial Evaluation Tool (BUDSET) in Australia: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To pilot test the Birth Unit Design Spatial Evaluation Tool (BUDSET) in an Australian maternity care setting to determine whether such an instrument can measure the optimality of different birth settings. BACKGROUND: Optimally designed spaces to give birth are likely to influence a woman's ability to experience physiologically normal labor and birth. This is important in the current industrialized environment, where increased caesarean section rates are causing concerns. The measurement of an optimal birth space is currently impossible, because there are limited tools available. METHODS: A quantitative study was undertaken to pilot test the discriminant ability of the BUDSET in eight maternity units in New South Wales, Australia. Five auditors trained in the use of the BUDSET assessed the birth units using the BUDSET, which is based on 18 design principles and is divided into four domains (Fear Cascade, Facility, Aesthetics, and Support) with three to eight assessable items in each. Data were independently collected in eight birth units. Values for each of the domains were aggregated to provide an overall Optimality Score for each birth unit. RESULTS: A range of Optimality Scores was derived for each of the birth units (from 51 to 77 out of a possible 100 points). The BUDSET identified units with low-scoring domains. Essentially these were older units and conventional labor ward settings. CONCLUSION: The BUDSET provides a way to assess the optimality of birth units and determine which domain areas may need improvement. There is potential for improvements to existing birth spaces, and considerable improvement can be made with simple low-cost modifications. Further research is needed to validate the tool.

Birth after caesarean section: changes over a nine-year period in one Australian state.

OBJECTIVES: to describe the outcomes related to birth after a caesarean section (CS) in one Australian state, New South Wales (NSW), over a nine-year period. The objectives were to determine whether changes had occurred in the rates of attempted and successful vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC), induction of labour, place of birth, admission to special care or neonatal intensive care nursery and perinatal mortality. DESIGN AND SETTING: cross-sectional analytic study of hospital births in New South Wales using population-based data from 1998-2006. PARTICIPANTS: women experiencing the next birth after a CS where: the total number of previous CS was 1; the presentation at birth was vertex; it was a singleton pregnancy; and, the estimated gestational age was greater than or equal to 37 weeks. A total of 53,455 women met these criteria. MEASUREMENTS: data were obtained from NSW Health Department's Midwives Data Collection (MDC). The MDC includes all live births and stillbirths of at least 20 weeks gestation or 400g birth weight in the state. FINDINGS: over the nine-year period, the rate of vaginal birth after caesarean section declined significantly (31-19%). The proportion of women who 'attempted a vaginal birth' also declined (49-35%). Of those women who laboured, the vaginal birth rate declined from 64% to 53%. Babies whose mothers 'attempted' a VBAC were significantly less likely to require admission to a special care nursery (SCN) or neonatal intensive care (NICU). The perinatal mortality rate in babies whose mothers 'attempted' a VBAC was higher than those babies born after an elective caesarean section although the absolute numbers are very small. KEY CONCLUSIONS: rates of VBAC have declined over this nine-year period. Rates of neonatal mortality and proxy measures of morbidity (admission to a nursery) are generally in the low range for similar settings. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: decisions around the next birth after CS are complex. Efforts to keep the first birth normal and support women who have had a CS to have a normal birth need to be made. More research to predict which women are likely to achieve a successful VBAC and the most effective ways to facilitate a VBAC is essential. Midwives have a critical role to play in these endeavours.

Developing the Birth Unit Design Spatial Evaluation Tool (BUDSET) in Australia: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a tool known as the Birth Unit Design Spatial Evaluation Tool (BUDSET), to assess the optimality of birth unit design. BACKGROUND: The space provided for childbirth influences the physiology of women in labor. Optimal birth spaces are likely to enable women to have physiologically normal labor and birth. The measurement of an optimal birth space is currently impossible, because limited tools are available. Research into optimal birth unit design is also limited. METHODS: The BUDSET was developed using a qualitative study. Data collection included an extensive literature review, interviews with key informants (architects, midwife clinicians, and researchers) and an expert panel. A Pattern Language format was used to synthesize the literature and data obtained from the key informants. RESULTS: The BUDSET is based on 18 design principles and is divided into four domains (Fear Cascade; Facility; Aesthetics; Support) with three to eight assessable items in each. CONCLUSION: Birth units must be designed so that they facilitate and support the physiology of normal childbirth. The BUDSET may provide a way to assess the optimality of birth units and determine which domain areas may need to be improved.

A survey of folic acid use in primigravid women.

A convenience sample of 320 consecutive primigravid women attending the antenatal clinic of a large Sydney tertiary referral hospital were invited to take part in a survey of folic acid use in pregnancy. The aim of the survey was to determine the number of primigravid women who commenced taking folic acid supplementation at least 1 month prior to conception. In addition the survey sought information on women's source of knowledge about the need for folic acid in pregnancy and whether their pregnancy was planned or unplanned. 295 women qualified to be included in the survey. While 88.1% of women took folic acid at some time prior to and/or during the first trimester, only 23.4% were found to have taken folic acid at least 1 month prior to conception. Of women with a planned birth only 34.5% commenced folic acid prior to conception. This survey adds further weight to the decision of the Australian Government to mandate for fortification of bread-making flour with folic acid, due to commence in September 2009. However, even with folic acid fortified food, health professionals need to continue to advise women to take supplements prior to conception and for at least 12 weeks into their pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects.