Browsing by Author "Carroll, F."
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Item Metadata only Clinical Report 2021: Based on births in NHS maternity services in England, Scotland and Wales between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018(Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2021-09-30) Carroll, F.; Coe, M.; Dunn, G.; Fremeaux, A.; Gurol-Urganci, I.; Harris, Tina; Hawdon, J.; Heighway, E.; Karia, A.; Khalil, A.; Muller, P.; Thomas, L.; Waite, L.; Webster, K.; van der Meulen, J.Executive summary Introduction Maternity and perinatal services in the UK are currently subject to a number of maternity and neonatal review programmes, including quality monitoring and improvement initiatives. These programmes focus attention on the quality of care provided by maternity services in the UK at both a national level and the individual trust or board level.1–3 In parallel to the improvement initiatives for clinical care, there are ongoing improvements in the collation and processing of maternity and neonatal data, including improved capture of detailed information about demographics of birthing people and care episodes occurring along the maternity continuum of care. These data are critical to enable evaluation and implementation of improvement strategies. The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA) uses these data to produce information that can support the improvement of maternity and perinatal care. In this report, for the first time, the NMPA is using a new centralised data source (MSDS v1.5) for births in England, while continuing to use the established centralised maternity datasets in Scotland and Wales. This report presents measures of maternity and perinatal care based on births in English, Scottish and Welsh NHS services between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018. The report also provides contextual information describing the characteristics of women and babies cared for during this time period and whose data have been included in this report. The limitations of MSDS mean that for births in England the key findings and recommendations made in this report are specific to data quality only. There are insufficient data to draw clinical conclusions. For births in Scotland and Wales, the consistency of the data sources used means that clinical key findings are possible in this report. However, clinical recommendations are avoided for all countries in this report. This is because the NMPA’s next clinical report for births in 2018/19 is expected to be published in early 2022 and will use MSDS data with improved completeness; as a result, it will be able to provide a more comprehensive picture of variation of care across the three countries. Throughout this document we use the term ‘birthing people’ as well as ‘women’. It is important to acknowledge that it is not only people who identify as women who access maternity and gynaecology services. Methods The analysis in this report is based on 304 518 births in NHS maternity services in England, Scotland and Wales between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018.* The report is estimated to have captured 41.5% of eligible births in this time period (34% of births in England, 97% of births in Wales and 100% of births in Scotland). The NMPA makes use of data collected electronically through healthcare information systems and national datasets. Data for births in England are provided by NHS Digital’s Maternity Services Data Set version 1.5 (MSDS v1.5) as well as by Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) records. * The time lag between the period covered by this report and its publication is due to the delayed receipt of the MSDS dataset for England. National Maternity and Perinatal Audit: Clinical Report 2021 xi Data for births in Scotland are provided by Public Health Scotland Data and Intelligence (formerly the Information Services Division, ISD), based on data from the Scottish Birth Record and Scottish Morbidity Records (SMR-01 and SMR-02). Linkages to records from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) are also made for births, deaths and stillbirths. Data for births in Wales are provided by the Maternity Indicators dataset (MIds), a dataset managed by the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS), as well as Admitted Patient Care (APC) records from the Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW), and some fields from the National Community Child Health Database (NCCHD). In order to compare like with like, the majority of measures are restricted to singleton term births. As a general principle, the denominator for each measure is restricted to women or babies to whom the outcome or intervention of interest is applicable; for example, third or fourth degree tears are only measured among women who have experienced a vaginal birth. Rates of measures are also adjusted for risk factors that are beyond the control of the maternity service, such as age, parity, previous caesarean birth and clinical risk factors that may explain variation in results between organisations. The NHS trusts and boards included in the audit provided intrapartum maternity care at one or more sites. Where possible, site-level results are available on the NMPA website.Item Open Access Induction of labour at 39 weeks and adverse outcomes in low-risk pregnancies according to ethnicity, socioeconomic deprivation and parity: a national cohort study in England.(PLOS Medicine, 2023-07-20) Muller, P.; Karia, A. M.; Webster, K.; Carroll, F.; Dunn, G.; Frémeaux, A.; Harris, T.; Knight, H.; Oddie, S.; Khalil, A.; van der Meulen, J.; Gurol-Urganci, I.Background: Ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in obstetric outcomes are well established. However, the role of induction of labour (IOL) to reduce these inequalities is controversial, in part due to insufficient evidence. This national cohort study aimed to identify adverse perinatal outcomes associated with IOL with birth at 39 weeks of gestation (“IOL group”) compared to expectant management (“expectant management group") according to maternal characteristics in women with low-risk pregnancies. Methods and Findings: All English National Health Service (NHS) hospital births between January 2018 and March 2021 were examined. Using the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset, maternal and neonatal data (demographic, diagnoses, procedures, labour, and birth details) were linked, with neonatal mortality data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Women with a low-risk pregnancy were identified by excluding pregnancies with pre-existing comorbidities, previous caesarean section, breech presentation, placenta previa, gestational diabetes, or a baby with congenital abnormalities. Women with premature rupture of membranes, placental abruption, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, amniotic fluid abnormalities, or antepartum stillbirth were excluded only from the IOL group. Adverse perinatal outcome was defined as stillbirth, neonatal death or neonatal morbidity, the latter identified using the English composite neonatal outcome indicator (E-NAOI). Binomial regression models estimated risk differences (with 95% confidence intervals) between the IOL group and the expectant management group, adjusting for ethnicity, socioeconomic background, maternal age, parity, year of birth, and birthweight centile. Interaction tests examined risk differences according to ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and parity. Of the 1 567 004 women with singleton pregnancies, 501 072 women with low-risk pregnancies and with sufficient data quality were included in the analysis. 3.3% of births in the IOL group (1 555/47 352) and 3.6% in the expectant management group (16 525/453 720) had an adverse perinatal outcome. After adjustment, a lower risk of adverse perinatal outcomes was found in the IOL group (risk difference -0.28%; 95% confidence interval -0.43%, -0.12%; p=0.001). This risk difference varied according to socioeconomic background from 0.38% ( 0.08%, 0.83%) in the least deprived to -0.48% ( 0.76%, -0.20%) in the most deprived national quintile (p value for interaction =0.01), and by parity with risk difference of -0.54% (-0.80%, -0.27%) in nulliparous women and -0.15% (-0.35%, 0.04%) in multiparous women (p-value for interaction = 0.02). There was no statistically significant evidence that risk differences varied according to ethnicity (p=0.19). Key limitations included absence of additional confounding factors such as smoking, BMI, and the indication for induction in the HES datasets, which may mean some higher risk pregnancies were included. Conclusions: IOL with birth at 39 weeks was associated with a small reduction in the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, with 360 inductions in low-risk pregnancies needed to avoid one adverse outcome. The risk reduction was mainly present in women from more socioeconomically deprived areas and in nulliparous women. There was no significant risk difference found by ethnicity. Increased uptake of IOL at 39 weeks, especially in women from more socioeconomically deprived areas, may help reduce inequalities in adverse perinatal outcomes.Item Metadata only Maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of birth in England: national cohort study(American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2021-05-19) Gurol-Urganci, I.; Jardine, J.; Carroll, F.; Draycott, T.; Dunn, G.; Fremeaux, A.; Harris, Tina; Hawdon, J.; Morris, E.; Muller, P.; Waite, L.; Webster, K.; van der Meulen, J.; Khalil, A.ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the association between SARS-CoV-2 26 infection at the time of birth and maternal and perinatal outcomes. 27 28 Methods: This is a population-based cohort study in England. The inclusion criteria were women with a recorded singleton birth between 29th May 2020 and 31st 29 January 2021 in a 30 national database of hospital admissions. Maternal and perinatal outcomes were compared 31 between pregnant women with a laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection recorded in the 32 birth episode and those without. Study outcomes were fetal death at or beyond 24 weeks’ 33 gestation (stillbirth), preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation), small for gestational age infant (SGA; birthweight <10th centile), preeclampsia/eclampsia, induction of labor, mode of birth, specialist neonatal care, composite neonatal adverse outcome indicator, maternal and neonatal length of hospital stay following birth (3 days or more), 28-day neonatal and 42-day maternal hospital readmission. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and their 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection status and outcomes were calculated using logistic regression, adjusting for maternal age, ethnicity, parity, pre-existing diabetes, pre-existing hypertension and socioeconomic deprivation measured using Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019. Models were fitted with robust standard errors to account for hospital-level clustering. The analysis of the neonatal outcomes was repeated for those born at term (≥ 37 weeks’ gestation) since preterm birth has been reported to be more common in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results The analysis included 342,080 women, of whom 3,527 had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was more common in women who were younger, of non-white ethnicity, primiparous, residing in the most deprived areas, or had comorbidities. Fetal death (aOR, 2.21, 95% CI 1.58-3.11; P<0.001) and preterm birth (aOR 2.17, 95% CI 1.96-2.42; P<0.001) occurred more frequently in women with SARS-CoV-2 infection than those without. Risk of preeclampsia/eclampsia (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.29-1.85; P<0.001), birth by emergency Cesarean delivery (aOR 1.63, 95% CI 1.51-1.76; P<0.001) and prolonged admission following birth (aOR 1.57, 95%CI 1.44-1.72; P<0.001) were significantly higher for women with SARS-CoV-2 infection than those without. There were no significant differences in the rate of other maternal outcomes. Risk of neonatal adverse outcome (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.27-1.66; P<0.001), need for specialist neonatal care (aOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.02-1.51; P=0.03), and prolonged neonatal admission following birth (aOR 1.61, 95% CI 1.49-1.75; P<0.001) were all significantly higher for infants with mothers with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. When the analysis was restricted to pregnancies delivered at term (≥37 weeks), there were no significant differences in neonatal adverse outcome (P=0.78), need for specialist neonatal care after birth (P=0.22) or neonatal readmission within four weeks of birth (P=0.05). Neonates born at term to mothers with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to have prolonged admission following birth (21.1% compared to 14.6%, aOR 1.61, 95% CI 1.49-1.75; P<0.001). Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of birth is associated with higher rates of fetal death, preterm birth, preeclampsia and emergency Cesarean delivery. There were no additional adverse neonatal outcomes, other than those related to preterm delivery. Pregnant women should be counseled regarding risks of SARS-COV-2 infection and should be considered a priority for vaccination.Item Metadata only National Maternity and Perinatal Audit Clinical Report 2022. Based on births in NHS maternity services in England and Wales Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019.(RCOG, 2022-06-23) Carroll, F.; Dunn, G.; Fremeaux, A.; Gurol-Urganci, I.; Heighway, E.; Indusegaran, B.; Karia, A.; Khalil, A.; Muller, P.; Oddie, S.; Thomas, L.; Waite, L.; Webster, K.; van der Meulen, J.; Harris, TinaExecutive summary Introduction to the NMPA The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA) is a large-scale project established to provide data and information to those working in and using maternity services. The NMPA helps us understand the maternity journey by bringing together information about maternity care and information about hospital admissions. This NMPA clinical audit report is an important step forward in understanding the way in which NHS maternity services care for women and birthing people, and it provides information on a number of measures, based on births in England and Wales from April 2018 to March 2019. This report follows on from the previous NMPA clinical audit reports and is one strategy used by the audit team to understand the care and outcomes experienced by women and birthing people, and to highlight areas of potential service improvement. Data Data for births in England are provided by NHS Digital’s Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) version 1.5 as well as by Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) records. Data for births in Wales are provided by Digital Health and Care Wales’s Maternity Indicators dataset (MIds), the Initial Assessment (IA) dataset, as well as Admitted Patient Care records from the Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW), and some data fields from the National Community Child Health Database (NCCHD). The NHS trusts and boards included in the audit provided maternity care at one or more hospital sites.* This report captures 89% of eligible births (88% in England and 97% in Wales). Data are included from over half a million women and birthing people, and their babies, born between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 in England and Wales. Key findings One-third of women and birthing people with singleton pregnancies at term in England and Wales underwent an induction of labour. Of all women and birthing people experiencing an instrumental birth by forceps, as many as 1 in 20 did so without an episiotomy; of these, 31% experienced a third- or fourth-degree tear. Of the women and birthing people opting for a vaginal birth after a previous caesarean birth, the proportion who experienced a vaginal birth was 61%. This is over 10 percentage points lower than overall proportions reported in national guidance (72–75%). Postnatal readmission rates were higher * Where possible, site-level results are available on the NMPA website. Guidance on using the data on the NMPA website can be found on the Resources page and in the Frequently Asked Questions. A list of organisations and useful publications are also available within the NMPA Quality Improvement page to support those improving the quality of care locally. The NMPA is committed to engagement with anyone accessing the audit’s outputs and we welcome feedback on how these can be made more useful (contact nmpa@rcog.org.uk). ix following a caesarean birth compared with a vaginal birth in both England (4.3% vs 2.9%) and Wales (4.7% vs 3.3%). Of the women and birthing people experiencing their first birth, 23% had an instrumental birth, 23% had an emergency caesarean birth and 44% of those who had a vaginal birth had an episiotomy. Around half of babies born small for gestational age (SGA) were born after their due date. This is in contrast to national guidance recommending earlier induction be offered if there are concerns about a baby being small. Data completeness issues remain for many NMPA measures, especially for anaesthesia, augmentation (helping the progress of labour), labour onset, episiotomy, maternal ethnicity, body mass index (BMI) and smoking status at birth. From our dataset, it is not always possible to tell which type of pain relief a woman or birthing person received during labour or whether they had an epidural or spinal, or general anaesthetic. National datasets in both England and Wales under-report rates of pre-pregnancy conditions such as high blood pressure. Recommendations R1 Improve the availability and quality of information about possible interventions during labour and birth, by offering individualised evidence-based information in a language and format which is accessible and tailored to each woman or birthing person’s circumstances. Consider using the IDECIDE decision-making and consent tool (when available). R2 All women and birthing people should be routinely counselled and offered an episiotomy prior to experiencing a forceps-assisted birth, to reduce the chance of an OASI. R3 Further information is required to better understand the underlying causes and patterns of variation in measures. Use local audit of measures to investigate differences in practice that may contribute to observed variation in rates. R4 Review all cases of postnatal maternal readmission to understand common indications, and identify changes in practice that may decrease the chance of readmission, especially among those having a caesarean birth. R5 Conduct reviews of data completeness, data capture software and practices including mandatory field requirements. Utilise user feedback to identify patterns in missing data and opportunities to support healthcare professionals to provide complete data without compromising clinical care. R6 Amend data fields to: ● collect the availability and timeliness of epidural anaesthesia ● separate the recording of intrapartum analgesia by type for both England and Wales ● collect analgesia and anaesthesia into two separate fields and enhance anaesthesia coding granularity to capture epidural, spinal or general anaesthesia separately in Wales. R7 Develop strategies to ensure harmonisation between national maternity datasets, in particular that data are collected to: ● record pre-existing conditions in the Welsh Initial Appointment dataset ● include a ‘number of infants’ variable in the English MSDS v2.0 ● prevent the under-reporting of all diagnoses within HES and PEDW. R8 Review the appropriateness of routine perinatal and postnatal data to obtain a meaningful measure of care, such as duration of skin-to-skin, who with and reasons for non-occurrenceItem Metadata only National Maternity and Perinatal Audit. Ethnic and Socio-economic inequalities in NHS maternity and perinatal care for women and their babies. Assessing care using data from births between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2018 across England, Scotland and Wales.(RCOG, 2021-11-18) NMPA Project Team; Webster, K.; Carroll, F.; Coe, M.; Dunn, G.; Fremeaux, A.; Gurol-Urganci, I.; Jardine, J.; Karia, A.; Muller, P.; Relph, S.; Waite, L.; Harris, Tina; Hawdon, J.; Oddie, S.; Khalil, A.; van der Meulen, J.Executive summary Introduction The purpose of this report is to describe inequalities in maternity and perinatal care for women and their babies in England, Scotland and Wales during the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2018. Using routinely collected data, care and outcomes experienced by women and babies using NHS maternity services are measured and stratified by ethnicity and by Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), a proxy for socio-economic deprivation. This report focuses on the following maternal measures: ● caesarean birth (presented as elective, emergency and both combined) ● birth without intervention ● major postpartum haemorrhage (1500 ml or more) and the following perinatal measures: ● an Apgar score of less than 7 at 5 minutes ● breast milk at first feed ● neonatal unit admission at term. Methods This report uses existing NMPA linked datasets. Ethnicity is coded using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2001 census categorisation of 16+1 codes for ethnicity,2 grouped into white, South Asian, Black and Other (comprising ‘Mixed’ and ‘Other’ combined). Socio-economic deprivation is measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), an area-based measurement of multiple deprivation calculated for each lower-layer super output area (LSOA) in England and Wales, and data zone in Scotland.3 IMD is based on residential postcode and grouped into quintiles of national distribution (quintile 1 = least deprived to quintile 5 = most deprived) for analysis. Results for each maternal and perinatal measure are reported by the mother’s ethnic group and IMD quintile. The results presented in this report are crude and therefore descriptive. The results do not take into account the interactions that contributory factors, such as parity, age, pre-existing co-morbidities, ethnicity and deprivation may have on each other, the complexities of which are not easily interpreted in an audit report such as this. An advisory group comprising professionals and a diverse range of service user representatives with experience of accessing maternity care was involved in the sprint audit. The advisory group was involved in the choice of measures for inclusion in this report, interpretation of results, identifying key messages, and reviewing the draft report and recommendations. Key findings Our results demonstrate differences in outcomes of maternity and perinatal care among women and birthing people, and their babies, via comparisons between those living in the most deprived and the least deprived areas in Great Britain, and in those from ethnic minority groups versus white ethnic groups. Women from South Asian and Black ethnic groups and those from the most deprived areas had higher rates of hypertension and diabetes when compared with women from white ethnic groups and those in the least deprived areas. Smoking was considerably higher among women and birthing people from white ethnic groups and those in the most deprived quintile. Women from Black ethnic groups had a higher rate of experiencing a birth without intervention. While this may be desirable in many situations, it may also represent circumstances where interventions are desired or indicated but do not occur. Rates of caesarean birth (both elective and emergency combined) and rates of emergency caesarean birth were highest for women from Black ethnic groups and higher for women from South Asian groups when compared with those from white ethnic groups. Women and birthing people from Black ethnic groups had higher rates of major postpartum haemorrhage (1500 ml or more) when compared with women and birthing people from white ethnic groups. In contrast to the usual association of increased deprivation with increased morbidity, a decreasing trend for major postpartum haemorrhage (1500 ml or more) was observed from the least to most deprived. Babies born to women from South Asian ethnic groups were less likely to have an Apgar score of less than 7 at 5 minutes but were more likely to be admitted to a neonatal unit at term when compared with babies born to women from white ethnic groups. Babies born to women from Black ethnic groups were more likely to be assessed as having an Apgar score of less than 7 at 5 minutes and were more likely to be admitted to a neonatal unit at term when compared with babies born to women from white ethnic groups. Rates of receiving breast milk at their first feed were significantly lower for babies born to white women and to those living in the most deprived areas. We also found areas of concern with regard to data completeness and rates of missing data by ethnic group and IMD. Our results show 1 in 10 women and birthing people in Great Britain (1 in 5 in Scotland) did not have their ethnic group recorded, and IMD was missing for 6%. Recommendations R1 Target efforts for a life-course approach to improve the health of people, addressing the wider social determinants of health as well as specific health-related risk factors. Offer individualised preconception and antenatal information tailored to their circumstances, including BMI, smoking, pre-existing comorbidities (hypertension and type 2 diabetes) and whether this is their first birth or they have previously had a caesarean birth. (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services, maternity services providers, general practitioners, primary care providers, public health policy makers) R2 Target efforts to reduce smoking. Audit rates of carbon monoxide testing and referrals for smoking cessation for women during pregnancy, and audit compliance with monitoring for fetal growth restriction. (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services, maternity services providers, general practitioners, primary care providers, stop smoking services, public health policy makers) R3 Support research and investigation into why women from ethnic minority groups and more deprived areas have higher rates of stillbirth, taking into consideration differences in care, specific risk factors and the wider determinants of health. (Audience: National Institute for Health Research, Health and Care Research Wales and NHS Research Scotland in consultation with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and policy makers, service planners/commissioners, service managers and healthcare professionals working for maternity services) R4 Improve availability and quality of information about choices during pregnancy and labour, with particular attention to the development of evidence-based shared decision-making tools for place, mode and timing of birth and pain relief options. Consider using the IDECIDE tool (when available). (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services, maternity services providers, NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales) R5 Avoid term admissions to a neonatal unit through improving transitional care provision, by establishing facilities where they are not currently available; or in hospitals that do have transitional care facilities, by expanding cot space availability and increasing numbers of appropriately trained staff. (Audience: Maternity and neonatal services providers) R6 Offer all women breastfeeding information and support, and target support in specific areas where breastfeeding rates are lowest (see also Priority 4c, intervention 3 of the Equity and Equality: Guidance for Local Maternity Systems). (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services, health visitors, primary care providers, maternity care services) R7 Review equality and diversity training provision and update to include the risks associated with deprivation, and how to recognise and avoid unconscious bias (see also Priority 4d, intervention 1 of the Equity and Equality: Guidance for Local Maternity Systems). (Audience: Local trusts and health boards, medical Royal Colleges, Royal Colleges of Nursing and Midwifery, General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Health and Care Professions Council, higher education institutions) R8 Ethnicity should be asked of and accurately recorded for all pregnant people using agreed ethnic group coding systems that should be updated regularly in accordance with the most current census groups. Consideration should be given to methods for self-reporting of ethnicity whenever possible (see also Priority 3, intervention 1 of the Equity and Equality: Guidance for Local Maternity Systems). (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services, maternity service providers, general practitioners, primary care providers, NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales) R9 Review the ethnic diversity and rates of socio-economic deprivation in the local area of each NHS trust or board and consider ways to reduce inequalities in healthcare outcomes (see also Priority 4, intervention 1 of the Equity and Equality: Guidance for Local Maternity Systems). (Audience: Local trusts and health boards, primary care providers, public health bodies, local government) R10 Prioritise further research in NHS maternity and perinatal care that could improve outcomes for women, and their babies, from ethnic minority groups and those in the most deprived areas. Undertaking quantitative analysis to investigate ethnic and socio-economic inequalities and report on the mediating factors and causal pathways; along with qualitative research to include exploring the experiences of people accessing maternity care. (Audience: National Institute for Health Research, UK Research and Innovation, Health and Care Research Wales and NHS Research Scotland in consultation with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and policy makers, service planners/commissioners, service managers and healthcare professionals working for maternity servicesItem Metadata only NHS Maternity Care for Women with a Body Mass Index of 30 kg/m2 or Above: Births between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2017 in England, Wales and Scotland.(RCOG, 2021-05-13) Relph, S.; Coe, M.; Carroll, F.; Gurol-Urganci, I.; Webster, K.; Jardine, J.; Dunn, G.; Harvey, A.; Harris, Tina; Hawdon, J.; Khalil, A.; Pasupathy, D.; van der Meulen, J.Introduction This report focuses on the maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or above who gave birth between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2017, compared with those of women with BMI in the range 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 . Methods This study uses existing NMPA linked datasets to explore the characteristics and outcomes of women and babies according to category of maternal BMI at booking with the maternity service provider. Women are grouped by BMI according to established World Health Organization (WHO) categories. The association between maternal BMI and each maternal or neonatal measure is represented using line graphs, stratified by maternal parity (nulliparous, multiparous with previous vaginal births only, multiparous with a previous caesarean birth). We also explored the feasibility of stratifying the outcomes according to the woman’s risk status at the time of labour and birth (as defined by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Intrapartum Care for Healthy Women and Babies guideline). Finally, we described the type of maternity units in which the women gave birth, by maternal BMI. A lay advisory group was involved at all stages of this sprint audit, including discussing the choice of outcomes, interpreting the results, and reviewing the draft report and recommendations. Key findings For the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2017, we estimate that 21.8% of women giving birth had a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above; however, 16.9% of women did not have a BMI (or height and weight) recorded. The likelihood of a woman experiencing an intrapartum intervention or adverse maternal outcome, or her baby experiencing very serious complications following birth, increases as BMI increases. We do not know whether this is because women with higher BMI are more likely to develop complications requiring intervention or because of differences in the clinicians’ threshold to intervene. However, those women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above who have previously had at least one vaginal birth (and no caesarean births) are almost as likely to have another unassisted vaginal birth as multiparous women with a BMI in the range 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 who have also not previously had a caesarean birth. Babies born to women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above are less likely to receive skin-to-skin contact within 1 hour of birth or breast milk for their first feed than babies born to women with a lower BMI. The proportion of women giving birth in a freestanding midwifery unit, or at home, decreases as BMI increases, although 1.7% of women with a BMI of 35.0–39.9 kg/m2 and 1.1% of women with a BMI of 40 kg/m2 or above did give birth in one of these settings. The lay advisory group requested that we also measure access to birth in water, monitoring of fetal growth by ultrasound, access to perinatal mental health services and prevention of venous thromboembolism in women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above. We currently do not have sufficient information in the NMPA dataset to assess these. Presentation of maternal or neonatal outcomes by maternal BMI, parity and risk status (as assessed at admission for birth) is both feasible and likely to be useful to support informed decision making. It is limited by uncertainty with less common outcomes (particularly those indicating poor condition of the baby at birth), more so when these are estimated in smaller groups of women. Recommendations R1 Audit local rates of missing data on BMI (or height and weight) before the end of the 2021/22 reporting year, and commence local initiatives to improve electronic recording of this where it is low. (Audience: Maternity service providers) R2 Commence by the end of June 2023 the production of, or include in updates to existing documents, detailed guidance on the antenatal and intrapartum care offered to women who are suspected to have a large-for-gestational-age baby, including whether the guidance should differ for women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above. (Audience: National organisations responsible for publishing guidance on maternity care) R3 Support research and investigation into why women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above have a higher risk of stillbirth, in order to inform clinical care which aims to reduce this risk. (Audience: National Institute for Health Research, Health and Care Research Wales and NHS Research Scotland in consultation with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and policy makers, service planners/commissioners, service managers and healthcare professionals working for maternity services) R4 Ensure that women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above are given preconception and antenatal information tailored to their individual circumstances (including their BMI and whether this is their first birth or they have previously had a caesarean birth). To support women in their decision making, this should include information from this report on their risk of the following: ● birth interventions ● major postpartum blood loss ● postnatal readmission to hospital ● very serious complications for their baby following birth. (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services, general practitioners) R5 Identify common causes for readmission to the maternity unit following birth specifically for women with a BMI of 40 kg/m2 or above, and commence local quality improvement initiatives to reduce the risk of readmission. (Audience: Maternity service providers) R6 Support all women and babies to experience skin-to-skin contact with one another within 1 hour of birth should they choose to and regardless of the woman’s BMI, unless it is unsafe to do so because either the woman or baby requires immediate medical attention. (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services) R7 Offer all women breastfeeding information and support during pregnancy and again shortly after the birth. Women with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above may require support to be tailored to their specific needs and to be provided by a healthcare professional who is trained to adapt breastfeeding techniques for women with a higher BMI. (Audience: Healthcare professionals working in maternity services) R8 Incorporate information on antenatal assessment of fetal growth status (suspected SGA or LGA) and on venous thromboembolism risk scores and prophylaxis in future trust/board and national maternity dataset specifications. (Audience: Maternity service providers, the Data and Intelligence Division of Public Health Scotland, the National Welsh Informatics Service) R9 Assess the quality of data on labour or birth in water, and where completeness is low, commence initiatives to improve it. (Audience: Maternity service providers)Item Open Access Obstetric interventions and pregnancy outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic in England: a nationwide cohort study(THeConf, 2022-03-09) Gurol-Urganci, I.; Waite, L.; Webster, K.; Jardine, J.; Carroll, F.; Dunn, G.; Fremeaux, A.; Harris, T.; Hawdon, J.; Muller, P.; van der Meulen, J.; Khalil, A.Title Obstetric interventions and pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in England: a nationwide cohort study 300 words excluding title and headings No references Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted maternity services worldwide and imposed restrictions on societal behaviours. The ‘indirect’ effects of these changes on maternal and neonatal outcomes are likely to be larger than the direct effects of COVID-19 infection. Aims and objective/s Comparing obstetric intervention rates and pregnancy outcomes in England during the pandemic/prepandemic periods To assess if the differences in rates varied according to ethnic and socioeconomic background. Method (must include research design, sample, analysis and ethical approval) National study of singleton births in English NHS hospitals. Births during the COVID-19 pandemic period (23/03/20-22/2/21) compared with births during the corresponding calendar period one year earlier. Hospital Episode Statistics provided data about maternal characteristics, obstetric inventions and maternal and neonatal outcomes. Multi-level logistic regression models were used with all models adjusted for maternal characteristics and COVID-19 status at birth. This study was exempt from ethical review as we used routinely collected data; personal data used without individual consent was approved by the NHS Health Research Authority. Findings: Of 948,020 singleton births 451,727 occurred during the defined pandemic period. Maternal characteristics were similar in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, stillbirth rates remained similar (0.36% versus 0.37% p-value 0.16),preterm birth and SGA birth rates were slightly lower (6.0% versus 6.1% and 6% versus 5.8% respectively, both p<0.001), and obstetric interventions were slightly higher (40.4% versus 39.1% IOL; 13.9% versus 12.9% for EL CS; 18.4% versus 17.0% for EM CS; all p<0.001). There were lower rates of prolonged maternal length of stay (16.7% versus 20.2%, p<0.001) and maternal readmission (3.0% versus 3.3%, p<0.001). There was some evidence that differences in outcomes varied according to women’s ethnic background but not according to their socioeconomic background. Conclusions Changes in obstetric intervention rates and pregnancy outcomes during the pandemic period may be linked to women’s behaviour, environmental exposure, changes in maternity practice, or reduced staffing levels.Item Metadata only Obstetric interventions and pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in England: A nationwide cohort study.(PLOS, 2022-01-10) Gurol-Urganci, I.; Waite, L.; Webster, K.; Jardine, J.; Carroll, F.; Dunn, G.; Fremeaux, A.; Harris, Tina; Hawdon, J.; Muller, P.; van der Meulen, J.; Khalil, A.Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted maternity services worldwide and imposed restrictions on societal behaviours. This national study aimed to compare obstetric intervention and pregnancy outcome rates in England during the pandemic and corresponding pre-pandemic calendar periods, and to assess whether differences in these rates varied according to ethnic and socioeconomic background. Methods and findings We conducted a national study of singleton births in English National Health Service hospitals. We compared births during the COVID-19 pandemic period (23 March 2020 to 22 February 2021) with births during the corresponding calendar period 1 year earlier. The Hospital Episode Statistics database provided administrative hospital data about maternal characteristics, obstetric inventions (induction of labour, elective or emergency cesarean section, and instrumental birth), and outcomes (stillbirth, preterm birth, small for gestational age [SGA; birthweight < 10th centile], prolonged maternal length of stay (≥3 days), and maternal 42-day readmission). Multi-level logistic regression models were used to compare intervention and outcome rates between the corresponding pre-pandemic and pandemic calendar periods and to test for interactions between pandemic period and ethnic and socioeconomic background. All models were adjusted for maternal characteristics including age, obstetric history, comorbidities, and COVID-19 status at birth. The study included 948,020 singleton births (maternal characteristics: median age 30 years, 41.6% primiparous, 8.3% with gestational diabetes, 2.4% with preeclampsia, and 1.6% with pre-existing diabetes or hypertension); 451,727 births occurred during the defined pandemic period. Maternal characteristics were similar in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, stillbirth rates remained similar (0.36% pandemic versus 0.37% pre-pandemic, p = 0.16). Preterm birth and SGA birth rates were slightly lower during the pandemic (6.0% versus 6.1% for preterm births, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.97; 5.6% versus 5.8% for SGA births, aOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.93–0.96; both p < 0.001). Slightly higher rates of obstetric intervention were observed during the pandemic (40.4% versus 39.1% for induction of labour, aOR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03–1.05; 13.9% versus 12.9% for elective cesarean section, aOR 1.13, 95% CI 1.11–1.14; 18.4% versus 17.0% for emergency cesarean section, aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06–1.08; all p < 0.001). Lower rates of prolonged maternal length of stay (16.7% versus 20.2%, aOR 0.77, 95% CI 0.76–0.78, p < 0.001) and maternal readmission (3.0% versus 3.3%, aOR 0.88, 95% CI 0.86–0.90, p < 0.001) were observed during the pandemic period. There was some evidence that differences in the rates of preterm birth, emergency cesarean section, and unassisted vaginal birth varied according to the mother’s ethnic background but not according to her socioeconomic background. A key limitation is that multiple comparisons were made, increasing the chance of false-positive results. Conclusions In this study, we found very small decreases in preterm birth and SGA birth rates and very small increases in induction of labour and elective and emergency caesarean section during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some evidence of a slightly different pattern of results in women from ethnic minority backgrounds. These changes in obstetric intervention rates and pregnancy outcomes may be linked to women’s behaviour, environmental exposure, changes in maternity practice, or reduced staffing levels.Item Open Access Use of induction of labour and emergency caesarean section and perinatal outcomes in English maternity services: a national hospital-level study(Wiley, 2022-04-21) Gurol-Urganci, I.; Jardine, J.; Carroll, F.; Dunn, G.; Fremeaux, A.; Muller, P.; Relph, S.; Waite, L.; Webster, K.; Oddie, S.; Hawdon, J.; Harris, Tina.; Khalil, A.; van der Meulen, J.ABSTRACT Objectives – To assess the association between hospital-level rates of induction of labour and emergency caesarean section, as measures of “practice style”, and rates of adverse perinatal outcomes. Design – National study using electronic maternity records. Setting – English National Health Service. Participants – Hospitals providing maternity care to women between April 2015 and March 2017. Main outcome measures – Stillbirth, admission to a neonatal unit, and babies receiving mechanical ventilation. Results – Among singleton term births, the risk of stillbirth was 0.15%; of admission to a neonatal unit 5.4%; and of mechanical ventilation 0.54%. There was considerable between-hospital variation in the induction of labour rate (minimum 17.5%, maximum 40.7%) and the emergency caesarean section rate (minimum 5.6%, maximum 17.1%). Women who gave birth in hospitals with a higher induction of labour rate had better perinatal outcomes. For each 5%-point increase in induction, there was a decrease in the risk of term stillbirth by 9% (OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.85 to 0.97) and mechanical ventilation by 14% (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.79 to 0.94). There was no significant association between hospital-level induction of labour rates and neonatal unit admission at term (p>0.05). There was no significant association between hospital-level emergency caesarean section rates and adverse perinatal outcomes (p always >0.05). Conclusions – There is considerable between-hospital variation in the use of induction of labour and emergency caesarean section. Hospitals with a higher induction rate had a lower risk of adverse birth outcomes. A similar association was not found for caesarean section.