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Background: The low-risk cesarean delivery (CD) rate is an established performance indicator for providers in maternity care for quality improvement purposes. Purpose: Our objectives were to assess nurse performance using adjusted nurse-level CD rates and to compare methods of identifying nurse outliers. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, cohort study of 6970 births attended by 181 registered nurses in one hospital's maternity unit. Adjusted and unadjusted nurse-level CD rates were compared and agreement between 3 definitions (statistical, top decile, over a benchmark) of outliers calculated. Results: Adjusted nurse-level CD rates varied from 5.5% to 53.2%, and the unadjusted rates varied from 5% to 50%. Risk adjustment had little impact on the ranking of nurses, and outliers were consistently identified by 3 definitions. Conclusions: Trade-offs between statistical certainty and feasibility need to be considered when classifying nurse outliers. Findings can help target interventions to improve nurse performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective  To evaluate whether prophylactic antibiotics at the time of placement of an intrauterine balloon tamponade (IBT) is associated with a reduction in postpartum endometritis. Study Design  Retrospective cohort study of patients who received an IBT from January 1, 2012, to December 12, 2016. Patients were included if the IBT remained in place at least 2 hours and excluded if chorioamnionitis was present. Patients who received prophylactic antibiotics at the time of IBT placement were compared with those who did not. Results  A total of 149 subjects received an IBT; 36 were excluded due to early removal or chorioamnionitis. Of the remaining, 59 received prophylactic antibiotics and 54 did not. Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups except mode of delivery. The majority (65%) of those who did not receive prophylactic antibiotics had a cesarean delivery (p  = 0.03). The overall incidence of endometritis was 15%. The incidence of endometritis was greater among those patients who did not receive prophylactic antibiotics compared with those who did (5 vs. 26%; p  < 0.002; odds ratio [OR]: 6.53; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.76–24.25). This association remained after adjustment for mode of delivery and receiving group B Streptococcus antibiotics prior to delivery (adjusted OR: 5.9; 95% CI: 1.58–22.35). Conclusion  Prophylactic antibiotics were associated with a reduction in postpartum endometritis among patients receiving an IBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To examine whether the presence of a birth plan was associated with mode of delivery, obstetrical interventions, and patient satisfaction. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies greater than 34 weeks’ gestation powered to evaluate a difference in mode of delivery. Maternal characteristics, antenatal factors, neonatal characteristics, and patient satisfaction measures were compared between groups. Differences between groups were analyzed using chi‐squared for categorical variables, Fisher exact test for dichotomous variables, and Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous or ordinal variables. Results: Three hundred women were recruited: 143 (48%) had a birth plan. There was no significant difference in the risk of cesarean delivery for women with a birth plan compared with those without a birth plan (21% vs 16%, adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] 1.11 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61‐2.04]). Women with a birth plan were 28% less likely to receive oxytocin (P < .01), 29% less likely to undergo artificial rupture of membranes (P < .01), and 31% less likely to have an epidural (P < .01). There was no difference in the length of labor (P = .12). Women with a birth plan were less satisfied (P < .01) and felt less in control (P < .01) of their birth experience than those without a birth plan. Conclusion: Women with and without a birth plan had similar odds of cesarean delivery. Though they had fewer obstetrical interventions, they were less satisfied with their birth experience, compared with women without birth plans. Further research is needed to understand how to improve childbirth‐related patient satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To determine whether the mode of delivery was different between women who attended childbirth education ( CBE) class, had a birth plan, or both compared with those who did not attend CBE class or have a birth plan. Methods This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of women who delivered singleton gestations > 24 weeks at our institution between August 2011 and June 2014. Based on a self-report at the time of admission for labor, women were stratified into four categories: those who attended a CBE class, those with a birth plan, both, and those with neither CBE or birth plan. The primary outcome was the mode of delivery. Multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusting for clinical covariates were performed. Results In this study, 14,630 deliveries met the inclusion criteria: 31.9 percent of the women attended CBE class, 12.0 percent had a birth plan, and 8.8 percent had both. Women who attended CBE or had a birth plan were older ( p < 0.001), more likely to be nulliparous ( p < 0.001), had a lower body mass index ( p < 0.001), and were less likely to be African-American ( p < 0.001). After adjusting for significant covariates, women who participated in either option or both had higher odds of a vaginal delivery ( CBE: OR 1.26 [95% CI 1.15-1.39]; birth plan: OR 1.98 [95% CI 1.56-2.51]; and both: OR 1.69 [95% CI 1.46-1.95]) compared with controls. Conclusion Attending CBE class and/or having a birth plan were associated with a vaginal delivery. These findings suggest that patient education and birth preparation may influence the mode of delivery. CBE and birth plans could be used as quality improvement tools to potentially decrease cesarean rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The goals of interconception care are to optimize women's health and encourage adequate spacing between pregnancies. Our study calculated trends in interpregnancy interval (IPI) patterns and measured the association of differing intervals with birth outcomes in California. Methods Women with 'non-first birth' deliveries in California hospitals from 2007 to 2009 were identified in a linked birth certificate and patient discharge dataset and divided into three IPI birth categories: <6, 6-17, and 18-50 months. Trends over the study period were tested using the Cochran-Armitage two-sided linear trend test. Chi square tests were used to test the association between IPI and patient characteristics and selected singleton adverse birth outcomes. Results Of 645,529 deliveries identified as non-first births, 5.6 % had an IPI <6 months, 33.1 % had an IPI of 6-17 months, and 61.3 % had an IPI of 18-50 months. The prevalence of IPI <6 months declined over the 3-year period (5.8 % in 2007 to 5.3 % in 2009, trend p value <0.0001).Women with an IPI <6 months had a significantly higher prevalence of early preterm birth (<34 weeks), low birthweight (<2500 g), neonatal complications, neonatal death and severe maternal complications than women with a 6-17 month or 18-50 month IPI (p < 0.005). Comparing those with a 6-17 month vs 18-50 month IPI, there were increased early preterm births and decreased maternal complications, complicated delivery, and stillbirth/intrauterine fetal deaths among those with a shorter IPI. Conclusions for Practice In California, women with an IPI <6 months were at increased risk for several birth outcomes, including composite morbidity measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To categorize individual birth plan requests and determine if number of requests and request fulfillment is associated with birth experience satisfaction. Methods This is a sub-analysis of a prospective cohort study of 302 women with singleton pregnancies with and without birth plans. Women with a hard copy of their birth plans who completed a postdelivery satisfaction survey were included in this study. We described the number and type of birth plan requests and associated the number of requests and request fulfillment with overall satisfaction, expectations met, and sense of control. Differences between groups were analyzed using chi-square, Spearman rank correlation, and logistic regression. Results One hundred and nine women presented to Labor and Delivery with a hard copy of their prewritten birth plan. We identified 23 unique requests. The most common requests were no intravenous analgesia (82%) and exclusive breastfeeding (74%). The requests most fulfilled were avoidance of episiotomy (100%) and no operative vaginal delivery (89%). Having a higher number of requests fulfilled correlated with greater overall satisfaction ( p = 0.03), higher chance of expectations being met ( p < 0.01), and feeling more in control ( p < 0.01). Having a high number of requests was associated with an 80 percent reduction in overall satisfaction with the birth experience ( p < 0.01). Conclusions Having a higher number of requests fulfilled was positively associated with birth experience satisfaction, while having a high number of requests was inversely associated with birth experience satisfaction. Further research is needed to understand how to improve birth plan-related birth experience satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tracking of elective deliveries (ED) prior to 39 gestational weeks has become a mandatory requirement for all hospitals with ≥1,100 deliveries for accreditation by The Joint Commission (TJC); however, the feasibility and accuracy of monitoring efforts remain problematic for many hospitals. Here, we evaluated the feasibility of three operational approaches to tracking ED. We used mixed methods to evaluate the feasibility of 3 different approaches to tracking ED: (1) using administrative data, (2) using electronic medical record (EMR) data, and (3) using targeted data collection in a county-wide quality improvement (QI) effort. For (1), we analyzed data from the California 2009 linked birth cohort dataset, and calculated hospital rates of ED using TJC technical specifications. For (2), we performed a case study of a project that recruited hospitals to provide EMR data for the TJC measure calculation. For (3), we performed a case study of a project that recruited hospitals to prospectively track elective inductions of labor. For (1), hospital discharge data were insufficient without supplementation from the EMR or birth certificate. For (2), legal and operational issues surrounding data sharing, and non-standardized data elements prohibited hospital participation. For (3), the QI approach successfully established policies and data collection systems yet lacked infrastructure to assure sustainability at a hospital or regional level. In summary, ED tracking required the coordination and support of multiple resources to enable hospitals to satisfactorily report on this measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Cesarean is the single most common operation in United States and has reached epidemic proportions in recent decades. Our objective was to study the effect of nonclinical parameters on primary cesarean rates in a large contemporary population. Study Design We designed a retrospective multicenter study using data obtained from electronic medical records from 19 U.S. hospitals between 2005 and 2007 (Consortium on Safe Labor Database), which included 145,764 term, singleton, nonanomalous, vertex, live births that included labor. The impact of nonclinical parameters (patient and provider characteristics, time of delivery, institutional policies, and insurance type) was investigated using modified Poisson regression methodology and classification and regression tree analysis. Results There were 125,517 vaginal and 20,247 cesarean deliveries. Using the multivariable model, the nonclinical parameters with statistical significance for primary cesarean were delivery during evening hours, a male provider, public insurance, and nonwhite race (p < 0.001). Conclusions Cesarean rates are associated with several nonclinical factors. Further investigation into these factors might help to develop strategies to reduce their influence and hence the rates of cesarean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We sought to determine maternal and neonatal outcomes by labor onset type and gestational age. Study Design: We used electronic medical records data from 10 US institutions in the Consortium on Safe Labor on 115,528 deliveries from 2002 through 2008. Deliveries were divided by labor onset type (spontaneous, elective induction, indicated induction, unlabored cesarean). Neonatal and maternal outcomes were calculated by labor onset type and gestational age. Results: Neonatal intensive care unit admissions and sepsis improved with each week of gestational age until 39 weeks (P < .001). After adjusting for complications, elective induction of labor was associated with a lower risk of ventilator use (odds ratio [OR], 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28–0.53), sepsis (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.26–0.49), and neonatal intensive care unit admissions (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.48–0.57) compared to spontaneous labor. The relative risk of hysterectomy at term was 3.21 (95% CI, 1.08–9.54) with elective induction, 1.16 (95% CI, 0.24–5.58) with indicated induction, and 6.57 (95% CI, 1.78–24.30) with cesarean without labor compared to spontaneous labor. Conclusion: Some neonatal outcomes improved until 39 weeks. Babies born with elective induction are associated with better neonatal outcomes compared to spontaneous labor. Elective induction may be associated with an increased hysterectomy risk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]