Maternal near miss and predictive ability of potentially life-threatening conditions at selected maternity hospitals in Latin America

Background

Every year millions of women around the world suffer from pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum complications. Women who survive the most serious clinical conditions are regarded as to have experienced a severe acute maternal complication called maternal near miss (MNM). Information about MNM cases may complement the data collected through the analysis of maternal death, and was proposed as a helpful tool to identify strengths and weaknesses of health systems in relation to maternal health care. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of a systematized form to detect severe maternal outcomes (SMO) in 20 selected maternity hospitals from Latin America (LAC).

Methods

Cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from analysis of hospital records for all women giving birth and all women who had a SMO in the selected hospitals. Univariate and multivariate adjusted logistic regression models were used to assess the predictive ability of different conditions to identify SMO cases. In parallel, external auditors were hired for reviewing and reporting the total number of discharges during the study period, in order to verify whether health professionals at health facilities identified all MNM and Potentially life-threatening condition (PLTC) cases.

Results

Twenty hospitals from twelve LAC were initially included in the study and based on the level of coverage, 11 hospitals with a total of 3,196records were included for the final analysis. The incidence of SMO and MNM outcomes was 12.9 and 12.3 per 1,000 live births, respectively. The ratio of MNM to maternal death was 19 to 1, with a mortality index of 5.1 %. Both univariate and multivariate analysis showed a good performance for a number of clinical and laboratory conditions to predict a severe maternal outcome, however, their clinical relevance remains to be confirmed. Coherence between health professionals and external auditors to identify SMO was high (around 100 %).

Conclusions

The form tested, was well accepted by health professionals and was capable of identifying 100 % of MNM cases and more than 99 % of PLTC variables. Altered state of consciousness, oliguria, placenta accrete, pulmonary edema, and admission to Intensive Care Unit have a high (LR+ ≥80) capacity to anticipate a SMO.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12978-016-0250-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Psychiatrist's Role in Treating Perinatal Opioid Use Disorder and Reducing Maternal Mortality

Drug overdose is a leading cause of maternal mortality. Psychiatrists can play a critical role in reducing these deaths by delivering effective evidence-based treatments for perinatal opioid use disorder (POUD), including the use of buprenorphine. Medications for POUD (i.e., buprenorphine, methadone) are life-saving treatments, but only half of those who are diagnosed as having POUD will receive this treatment, which can result in an increased risk for return to opioid use, overdose, and death. Psychiatrists are well positioned to prescribe buprenorphine given the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) removal of the requirement to submit a Notice of Intent to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorders. Psychiatrists who have a current DEA registration that includes Schedule III authority may now prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorders; the training requirements to do so are outlined herein. This article reviews the standard of care for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of POUD, and prescribing buprenorphine for POUD, as well as shared decision-making for medication selection, induction, and maintenance of buprenorphine during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum year.

Utilization and determinants of adequate quality antenatal care services in India: evidence from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) (2019-21)

BACKGROUND

Pregnancy-related complications and insufficiencies in antenatal care services are leading causes of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality in low-resource settings. However, there has been an undue focus on achieving a minimum number of Antenatal Care (ANC) visits without adequate focus on the factors affecting ANC service utilization. This secondary data analysis from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21) was conducted to estimate the coverage of adequate quality ANC service and its determinants in India.

METHODS

The study sample included 176,877 women aged 15-49 years who had experienced a pregnancy in the last 5 years. The primary outcome variable was the utilization of ANC services by women during their last pregnancy assessed by the frequency of ANC visits and the quality of ANC services. Quality of ANC service utilisation was categorised as adequate quality, inadequate quality and ≥ 4 ANC visits and, inadequate quality and < 4 ANC visits. We performed multinomial logistic regression and reported relative risk ratio (RRR) along with 95% confidence intervals. We adjusted for sampling weight, clustering, and stratification in the sampling design.

RESULTS

The median (IQR) number of ANC visits attended by a woman during her previous pregnancy was 4 (IQR 3-7). A majority (59.25%) of the women reported availing of ≥ 4 antenatal care (ANC) visits during their previous pregnancy while 6.12% of women reported availing no ANC visits in their last pregnancy. Women aged ≥ 30 years were significantly less likely (aRRR 0.73 95% CI 0.66, 0.80) to receive ANC services of inadequate quality, and < 4 ANC visits. Additionally, any exposure to mass media (aRRR 0.69 95% CI 0.66, 0.73), and having health insurance (aRRR 0.71 95% CI 0.68, 0.75) decreased their risk of receiving inadequate quality ANC services and < 4 ANC visits. Women belonging to the richest wealth quintile (aRRR 0.52 95% CI 0.47,0.58) and those with an intended pregnancy (aRRR 0.62 95% CI 0.58 ,0.66) were at significantly lower risk of utilizing inadequate quality ANC services and < 4 ANC visits.

CONCLUSION

Although nearly 3 in 5 women in India utilized a minimum mandated ≥ 4 ANC visits during their last pregnancy, only one in five of those received adequate quality of ANC services indicating suboptimal content. However, only one in five women utilized the WHO-mandated ≥ 8 ANC visits for a positive pregnancy experience. Furthermore, 14.3% of the women received ANC services of inadequate quality despite attending ≥ 4 ANC visits in their previous pregnancy. Our study emphasized the importance of the quality of ANC services utilised irrespective of number of ANC visits availed. Efforts should be undertaken to enhance the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services by implementing media initiatives that aim to raise awareness, particularly among women belonging to disadvantaged population groups.

Striking the Balance: Bipolar Disorder in the Perinatal Period

The authors reviewed the literature, published between 2018 and 2023, on treating bipolar disorder in the perinatal period in order to summarize current treatment perspectives. Mood episodes occur during pregnancy and there are high rates of both initial onset and recurrence in the postpartum period. Bipolar disorder itself is associated with higher risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including gestational hypertension, hemorrhage, cesarean delivery, and small for gestational age infants. A general principle of perinatal treatment includes maintaining psychiatric stability of the pregnant person while reducing medication exposure risk to the fetus. A variety of factors can compromise psychiatric stability, including rapid discontinuation of stabilizing medications, decreased efficacy due to physiologic changes of pregnancy, and exacerbation of underlying psychiatric illness. Psychosocial interventions include optimizing sleep, increasing support, and reducing stress. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends against discontinuing or withholding medications solely due to pregnancy or lactation status. Individualized treatment involves a discussion of the risks of undertreated bipolar disorder weighed against the risks of individual medication choice based on available evidence regarding congenital malformations, adverse neonatal and obstetrical events, and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Valproate is not a first-line treatment due to higher risks. Data are lacking on safety for many newer medications. The authors review current safety data regarding lithium, lamotrigine, and antipsychotics, which are the most commonly used treatments for managing bipolar disorder in the perinatal period. Due to physiologic changes during pregnancy, frequent therapeutic drug monitoring and dose adjustments are required.