by Anne C. M. Hermans, Julia Spaan, Marieke A.A. Hermus, Amber M. Hietkamp, Jantien Visser, Arie Franx, Jacoba van der Kooy
IntroductionThis study focusses on the implementation of an integrated care pathway for women with SGA in their obstetric history that pursues value-based healthcare. This study aims to 1) Determine whether the integrated care pathway led to a reduction in the number of antenatal secondary care consultations, as an indicator of care efficacy, and 2) compare clinical outcomes for women with a history of SGA before and after implementation of the integrated care pathway.
MethodsRetrospective cohort study including data from pregnant women with a history of SGA within integrated maternity care organisation Annature, 2017–2020. Intervention was an integrated care pathway (2018). Pre- and post-intervention periods were compared assessing prenatal secondary care consultations, place and mode of delivery, and perinatal outcomes.
ResultsThe implementation of the care pathway for pregnant women with a history of SGA led to a reduction in mean number of prenatal secondary care consultations per pregnancy from 11 in 2017–5 in 2020, and fewer inductions of labour (78 (34.2%) vs 127 (26.8%), p = 0.045). Additionally, the number of births in primary care increased (35 (15.4%) vs 136 (28.8%), p Conclusion
The implementation of the care pathway for pregnant women with a history of SGA resulted in a reduction in prenatal secondary care consultations and fewer inductions of labour. Additionally, the number of births in primary care increased, with no significant adverse impact on neonatal outcomes in the post-intervention period compared to the pre-intervention period.
To explore how urinary (UI) and anal incontinence (AI) affect various aspects of quality of life (QoL) and the risk of depression 6 months postpartum, using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).
Prospective cohort study.
Women who gave birth between 2020 and 2022 within a local obstetric collaborative network in the Netherlands, including 13 midwifery practices, 5 maternity care organisations at the primary care level, and 1 secondary teaching hospital.
Prospectively collecting data by using the questionnaires of the International Consortium for Health Outcome Measures Pregnancy and Childbirth set at five moments during pregnancy and postpartum.
Associations between UI, AI, QoL and likelihood of depression based on PROMs collected from questionnaire 6 months postpartum.
Of the 663 women who completed the 6-month postpartum questionnaire, 79 women had severe UI, 71 had severe AI and 45 experienced both. These women reported significantly lower QoL as measured by PROMIS-10: 34 (IQR 30.5–38.5), 34 (IQR 30–39.5), and 32 (IQR 27–35), respectively, compared with a score of 37 (IQR 33–42) for the total population. Additionally, the positive rate for depression screening was notably higher among these groups, with rates of 6%, 10% and 18%, respectively, compared with 3% for the overall group.
In this observational cohort study, we found that severe UI and/or AI 6 months postpartum significantly impact QoL and increase the likelihood of depression, as indicated by PROMs. Our findings emphasise the importance of screening, evaluation and treatment of UI and/or AI to improve the QoL and reduce the risk of depressive disorders for postpartum women.