Childbirth accounts for millions of hospitalizations each year in the U.S., yet there is relatively little research evaluating strategies to improve outcomes associated with childbirth, according to a study published in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The Adverse Outcome Index, Weighted AOI, and Severity Index were previously developed to measure the incidence and severity of delivery-related adverse events. In this study, researchers assessed how labor and delivery patient safety bundles influenced delivery-associated outcomes.
The bundle included 24-hour attending presence, communication training, mandatory use of a labor partogram, fetal heart rate tracing interpretation training and regular feedback on delivery-associated outcomes pre- and post-intervention.
Highlighted below are three findings from the study.
1. More than 5,800 deliveries met the study's criteria. Comparing the pre- and post-intervention periods, high-risk pregnancy was more common in the post-intervention period at 79.4 percent versus 73.5 percent.
2. Among high-risk pregnancies, there was a decrease in both the Modified Weighted Adverse Outcomes Index and the Modified Severity Index; but no difference in the Modified Adverse Outcomes Index.
3. For low-risk pregnancies, there was no significant difference in the levels for any of the three measured indices over the study period.
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