[Maternal mortality and health care organization in France 2016-2018]. / Mortalité maternelle et organisation des soins en France 2016­2018.

Organization of care is one of the elements examined when assessing cases. Organization of care is a factor, which is considered in addition to the content of care when assessing mortality cases. The factors related to the organization of care concern the suitability of the place of care, the completion of a necessary transfer, the adequacy of human and material resources, and the communication between caregivers. For the 2016-2018 triennium these preventability factors are the subject of a dedicated chapter. Overall, one or more preventability factors linked to the organization of care were reported in 51 cases, i.e. 24% of all assessed cases. The field of communication was the most frequently reported (32/51), followed by inappropriate place of care (20/51), insufficient human resources (13/51), transfers not performed or performed late (11/51) and insufficient material resources (9/51). An overall analysis can be made along two dimensions: organization within the maternity unit, and coordination with other sectors or outpatient medicine. Areas for improvement within the maternity unit relate to the ability to deal with life-threatening emergencies, to organize the call for specialized and/or trained human reinforcements, to organize intensive monitoring of patients in the event of organ failure, and to facilitate good communication between caregivers. Regarding coordination with other units, it is proposed to improve collaboration between the maternity unit's emergency department and the general emergency department, and to improve the transfer of information required by all those involved, including primary care physicians, in the pre-, per- and postpartum period. Finally, the place of care for patients presenting with a psychiatric and somatic pathology is a situation that requires careful consultation.

[Uterine rupture during medical termination of pregnancy or intrauterine death: A risk management study]. / Rupture utérine sur interruption médicale de grossesse ou mort fœtale in utero : une étude de gestion du risque.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and analyze a series of uterine ruptures (UR) that occurred in the context of medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) or intrauterine death (IUD) from a risk management perspective. METHODS: French retrospective descriptive observational study of all cases of UR occurring during induction for IUD or MTP, reported between 2011 and 2021 by Gynerisq. Cases were recorded on a basis of voluntary reports using targeted questionnaires. RESULTS: Between November 27, 2011, and August 22, 2021, 12 cases of UR occurring during an induction for IUD or MTP were recorded. 50 % of the patients had never given birth by cesarean section. The term of delivery varied from 17+3 days to 41+2 days. The clinical signs found were pain (n=6), ascending fetal presentation (n=5) and bleeding (n=4). All patients were managed by laparotomy, 5 were transfused. One vascular ligation and one hysterectomy were required. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of surgical history is involved in the prevention of UR. The signs of detection are pain, ascending presentation and bleeding. The speed of management and good teamwork allow a reduction of maternal complications. The findings of the morbidity and mortality reviews show that prevention and mitigation barriers can be established.

Hydroxychloroquine for prevention of recurrent miscarriage: study protocol for a multicentre randomised placebo-controlled trial BBQ study.

INTRODUCTION: Recurrent miscarriage (RM), defined by three or more consecutive losses during the first trimester of pregnancy, affects 1%-2% of fertile couples. Standard investigations fail to reveal any apparent cause in ~50% of couples. However, on the basis of animal models and clinical studies, several hypotheses have been put forward concerning underlying mechanisms of RM: altered ovarian reserve, progesterone defect, thrombotic and/or endothelial dysfunction and immunological disturbances. Nonetheless, no study has yet reached conclusive beneficial clinical evidence for a potential treatment in unexplained RM. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a molecule with extensive safety data during pregnancy. The pharmacological properties of HCQ (eg, antithrombotic, vascular protective, immunomodulatory, improved glucose tolerance, lipidlowering and anti-infectious) could be effective against some mechanisms of unexplained RM. Furthermore, eventhough clinical benefit of HCQ is suggested in prevention of thrombotic and late obstetric events in antiphospholipid (APL) syndrome, there are no data suggesting the benefit of HCQ in RM in the presence of APL antibodies. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Taken all together and given the low cost of HCQ, the aim of this multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study is to investigate whether HCQ would improve the live birth rate in women with RM, irrespective of maternal thrombophilic status: (1) no known thrombophilia, (2) inherited thrombophilia or (3) APL antibodies. The primary end point is a live and viable birth. After confirming eligibility and obtaining consent, 300 non-pregnant women will be randomised into two parallel groups for a daily oral treatment (HCQ 400 mg or placebo), initiated before conception and stopped at 10 weeks' gestation. If pregnancy does not occur after 1 year, the treatment will be stopped. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Agreement from the French National Public Health and Drug Security Agency (160765A-22) and ethical approval from the Committee for the Protection of Persons of NORD-OUEST I (2016-001330-97) have been obtained. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: NCT0316513; Pre-results.

Shoulder dystocia: guidelines for clinical practice from the French College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF).

Shoulder dystocia (SD) is defined as a vaginal delivery in cephalic presentation that requires additional obstetric maneuvers to deliver the fetus after the head has delivered and gentle traction has failed. It complicates 0.5-1% of vaginal deliveries. Risks of brachial plexus birth injury (level of evidence [LE]3), clavicle and humeral fracture (LE3), perinatal asphyxia (LE2), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (LE3) and perinatal mortality (LE2) increase with SD. Its main risk factors are previous SD and macrosomia, but both are poorly predictive; 50-70% of SD cases occur in their absence, and most deliveries when they are present do not result in SD. No study has proven that the correction of these risk factors (except gestational diabetes) would reduce the risk of SD. Physical activity is recommended before and during pregnancy to reduce the occurrence of some risk factors for SD (Grade C). In obese women, physical activity should be coupled with dietary measures to reduce fetal macrosomia and weight gain during pregnancy (Grade A). Women with gestational diabetes require diabetes care (diabetic diet, glucose monitoring, insulin if needed) (Grade A) because it reduces the risk of macrosomia and SD (LE1). Only two measures are proposed for avoiding SD and its complications. First, induction of labor is recommended in cases of impending macrosomia if the cervix is favorable at a gestational age of 39 weeks or more (professional consensus). Second, cesarean delivery is recommended before labor in three situations and during labor in one: (i) estimated fetal weight (EFW) >4500g if associated with maternal diabetes (Grade C), (ii) EFW >5000g in women without diabetes (Grade C), (iii) history of SD associated with severe neonatal or maternal complications (professional consensus), and finally during labor, (iv) in case of fetal macrosomia and failure to progress in the second stage, when the fetal head station is above +2 (Grade C). In cases of SD, it is recommended to avoid the following actions: excessive traction on the fetal head (Grade C), fundal pressure (Grade C), and inverse rotation of the fetal head (professional consensus). The McRoberts maneuver, with or without suprapubic pressure, is recommended first (Grade C). If it fails and the posterior shoulder is engaged, Wood's maneuver should be performed preferentially; if the posterior shoulder is not engaged, it is preferable to attempt to deliver the posterior arm next (professional consensus). It appears necessary to know at least two maneuvers to perform should the McRoberts maneuver fail (professional consensus). A pediatrician should be immediately informed of SD. The initial clinical examination should check for complications, such as brachial plexus injury or clavicle fracture (professional consensus). If no complications are observed, neonatal monitoring need not be modified (professional consensus). The implementation of practical training with simulation for all care providers in the delivery room is associated with a significant reduction in neonatal (LE3) but not maternal (LE3) injury. SD remains an unpredictable obstetric emergency. All physicians and midwives should know and perform obstetric maneuvers if needed, quickly but calmly.

Enoxaparin for prevention of unexplained recurrent miscarriage: a multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

It is common practice in many centers to offer antithrombotic medications to women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage, in the presence or absence of inherited thrombophilia. Although no benefit of aspirin vs placebo has been clearly demonstrated, a double-blind placebo-controlled trial on the effect of low-molecular-weight heparin is lacking. We enrolled 258 pregnant women with a history of unexplained recurrent miscarriage (≥2 consecutive miscarriages before 15 weeks' gestation) and a negative thrombophilia workup. They were randomly assigned to receive one daily subcutaneous injection of enoxaparin 40 mg or placebo until 35 weeks' gestation. We included 256 women (mean age 32 years, ≥3 miscarriages: 72%; mean gestational age 39 days of amenorrhea) in the intention-to-treat analysis; 66.6% of 138 who received enoxaparin had a live birth vs 72.9% of 118 who received placebo. The absolute difference was -6% (95% CI, -17.1 to 5.1), excluding a 10% increase in the rate of live-birth on enoxaparin (P = .34). In this first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, enoxaparin (40 mg once daily) did not improve the chance of a live birth in nonthrombophilic women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage. This trial is registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov as #NCT00740545 and the French National Health and Drug Safety Agency (EudraCT #2006-003350-18).