Information, support, and follow-up offered to women who experienced severe maternal morbidity (original) (raw)

Opportunities for improvement in care among women with severe maternal morbidity

American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2016

Severe maternal morbidity is increasing in the United States and has been estimated to occur in up to 1.3% of all deliveries. A standardized, multidisciplinary approach has been recommended to identify and review cases of severe maternal morbidity to identify opportunities for improvement in maternal care. The aims of our study were to apply newly described gold standard guidelines to identify true severe maternal morbidity and to utilize a recently recommended multidisciplinary approach to determine the incidence of and characterize opportunities for improvement in care. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all women admitted for delivery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from Jan. 1, 2012, through June 30, 2014. Electronic medical records were screened for severe maternal morbidity using the following criteria: International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for severe illness identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; prolonged length of sta...

Development and validation of a questionnaire to identify severe maternal morbidity in epidemiological surveys

2010

Objective: to develop and validate a questionnaire on severe maternal morbidity and to evaluate the maternal recall of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Design: validity of a questionnaire as diagnostic instrument. Setting: a third level referral maternity in Campinas, Brazil. Population: 386 survivors of severe maternal complications and 123 women that delivered without major complications between 2002 and 2007. Methods: eligible women were traced and interviewed by telephone on the occurrence of obstetric complications and events related to their treatment. Their answers were compared with their medical records as gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios plus their correspondent 95% confidence intervals were used as main estimators of accuracy. Main outcomes: diagnosis of severe maternal morbidity associated with past pregnancies, including hemorrhage, eclampsia, infections, jaundice and related procedures (hysterectomy, admission to ICU, blood transfusion, laparotomy, inter-hospital transfer, mechanical ventilation and post partum stay above seven days). Results: Women did not recall accurately the occurrence of obstetric complications, especially hemorrhage and infection. The likelihood ratios were < 5 for hemorrhage and infection, while for eclampsia it almost reached 10. The information recalled by women regarding hysterectomy, intensive care unit admission and blood transfusion were found to be highly correlated with finding evidence of the event in the medical records (likelihood ratios ranging from 12.7-240). The higher length of time between delivery and interview was associated with poor recall. Conclusion: Process indicators are better recalled by women than obstetric complication and should be considered when applying a questionnaire on severe maternal morbidity.

Assistance process to women with severe maternal morbidity: a mixed study

Revista Gaúcha de Enfermagem

Objective: To describe the maternal and obstetric characteristics associated with severe maternal morbidity, and the factors of the assistance process involved in the severe outcomes according to nurses and doctors. Method: Sequential mixed study at the tertiary maternity in the city of Rio de Janeiro, based on care records and interviews with these professionals, from February to July 2019. Chi-square test, prevalence ratio and thematic content analysis were applied. Results: In 66 (100%) women with SMM, severe preeclampsia (77.3%) was more prevalent and there were 12 (18.2%) cases of near miss and one maternal death. Postpartum hemorrhage (PR = 3.21; 95% CI 1.22-8.41) and blood transfusions (PR = 3.60; 95% CI 1.81-7.16) contributed to severe outcomes. There are deficiencies in the health system, access to reproductive health and quality of care. Conclusion: Improvements in access to health and quality of the care process are imperative to reduce severe maternal outcomes.

A qualitative inquiry into women’s experiences of severe maternal morbidity

Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online

Severe acute maternal morbidity (SMM) is a near-death experience during pregnancy, childbirth or termination of a pregnancy. Nine women recruited from hospital intensive care or high dependency units following the birth of their baby participated in two qualitative interviews about their SMM experience. The interpretative phenomenological analysis led to the identification of three superordinate themes related to participants: moving from a state of normal pregnancy to being severely unwell, being in critical care and returning to normal. Participants' transition to a SMM event occurred quickly and was frightening, with participants expressing concerns about their husbands/partners' trauma. Participants' time in hospital was particularly hard for those separated from their baby, with this eased by staff kindness and family support. After discharge participants continued to seek explanations for their SMM. Implications include more formal support for mothering when women are in maternal critical care, and support for husbands/partners following a SMM event.

Review of contributory factors in maternity admissions to intensive care at a New Zealand tertiary hospital

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2013

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contributed to severe maternal morbidity, defined by admission of pregnant women and women in the postpartum period to the intensive care unit (ICU) from 2010-2011 at Auckland City Hospital (ACH), a tertiary hospital that delivers 7500 women/year, and to determine potentially avoidable morbidity with the use of local multidisciplinary review. STUDY DESIGN: All admissions of pregnant women and women in the postpartum period (to 6 weeks) to the ICU at ACH from 2010-2011 were identified from hospital databases. Case notes were summarized and discussed by a multidisciplinary team. The presence of contributory factors and potentially avoidable morbidity were determined by consensus with a tool that was developed by the New Zealand Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee for the review of maternal and perinatal deaths. Specific recommendations for clinical management were identified by the multidisciplinary group. RESULTS: Nine pregnant women and 33 women in the postpartum period were admitted to the ICU from 2010-2011. Contributory factors were identified in 30 cases (71%); 20 cases (48%) were considered to be potentially avoidable; personnel factors were the most commonly identified avoidable causes. Specific recommendations that resulted from the study included the need for the development of guidelines for puerperal sepsis, improved planning for women at known risk of postpartum hemorrhage, enhanced supervision of junior staff, and enhanced communication through multidisciplinary meetings. CONCLUSION: Forty-eight percent of severe maternal morbidity, which was defined as admission to the ICU at ACH from 2010-2011, was considered to be potentially avoidable by a local multidisciplinary review team; priorities were identified for improvement of local maternity services.

Early detection of severe maternal morbidity: A retrospective assessment of the role of an Early Warning Score System

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2013

Background: The Early Warning Scoring (EWS) surveillance system is used to identify deteriorating patients and enable appropriate staff to be called promptly. However, there is a lack of evidence that EWS surveillance systems lead to a reduction in severe morbidity. Aims: To determine whether as EWS may have improved the detection of severe maternal morbidity or lessened the severity of illness among women with severe morbidity at a large tertiary maternity unit at Auckland City Hospital (ACH), New Zealand. Methods: Admissions to intensive care, cardiothoracic and vascular intensive care, or an obstetric high-dependency unit (HDU) were identified from clinical and hospital administrative databases. Case reviews and transcribed observation charts were presented to a multidisciplinary review group who, through group consensus, determined whether an EWS might have hastened recognition and/or escalation and effective treatment. Results: The multidisciplinary review team determined that an EWS might have reduced the seriousness of maternal morbidity in five cases (7.6%), including three admissions for obstetric sepsis to intensive care unit and two to obstetric HDU for post-partum haemorrhage. No patient had a complete set of respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure and temperature recordings at every time period. Conclusions: These findings have been used to support introduction of an EWS to the maternity unit at ACH.

Examining adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes associated with severe maternal morbidity

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2020

Background: While there is a global focus on severe maternal morbidity (SMM), less is known about the impact of SMM on fetal and neonatal outcomes. Aims: To examine fetal/neonatal outcomes associated with SMM. Materials and Methods: A national New Zealand (NZ) retrospective cohort study describing fetal/neonatal outcomes of all women with SMM admitted to a NZ Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or High Dependency Unit (HDU) in 2014. Adverse fetal/ neonatal outcomes were defined as one or more of the following: fetal or early neonatal death, hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, Apgar score less than seven at five minutes, admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or Special Care Baby Unit. Results: There were 400 women with SMM admitted to NZ ICU/HDU units in 2014, and 395 (98.8%) had complete birth/pregnancy outcome information. Of these, 49.4% (195/395) were associated with an adverse fetal/neonatal outcome. Indigenous Māori women had a 30% higher rate of adverse fetal/neonatal outcome compared to NZ European women (63.7% and 48.9% respectively; relative risk = 1.30, 95% CI 1.04-1.64). Pre-eclampsia was associated with an adverse fetal/ neonatal outcome in 67% (81/120). Perinatal-related mortality rate was 53.1 per 1000 total births compared to NZ perinatal mortality of 11.2 per 1000 total births for 2014. Conclusion: SMM events are associated with high rates of adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes with a higher burden of adverse events for Māori. Further research is needed to explore opportunities in maternal and neonatal care pathways to improve fetal/neonatal outcomes and address inequities. K E Y W O R D S ethnic disparities, fetal/neonatal outcomes, severe maternal morbidity BACKGROUND Globally, it is estimated that severe maternal morbidity (SMM) occurs in approximately 1-2% of pregnancies with a greater incidence in minority populations. 1-4 It is estimated that approximately 30-40% of these severe events are potentially preventable. 5-7 SMM or maternal near-miss are terms used to identify women with life-threatening complications in pregnancy. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines this severe end of the morbidity spectrum as 'the near death of a woman who has survived a

The Result of Acute Maternal Morbidity and Management at A Tertiary Care Hospital's Critical Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study

Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences

Aim: To evaluate the results of the management of severe acute maternal conditions in a public hospital's critical care unit. Study design: A cross-sectional study Place and Duration: From 19-09-2018 to 18-03-2019, the ICU and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad Methodology: This study comprised 50 women who needed admission to an ICU and care during pregnancy and/or puerperium for up to 6 weeks. The information was entered into a pre-designed proforma with factors including complete biodata and a detailed history. Clinical findings, overall health, length of hospital stay, treatment results, and problems Results: The women were 29 years old on average in 18 to 45. 63 years. Pre-eclampsia affected 16% of women (n = 8) and eclampsia affected 38% of women (n = 19). Similar obstetric bleeding conditions were seen, including postpartum haemorrhage (24%; n=12), abruptio placenta (2%), placenta previa (8%), ectopic pregnancy (2%), and ab...