Plasma soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor ratio of 11.5 multiples of median predicts preeclampsia with severe features within 2 weeks of testing.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenic imbalances, characterized by an excess of antiangiogenic factors (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1) and reduced angiogenic factors (vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor), contribute to the mechanisms of disease in preeclampsia. The ratio of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor has been used as a biomarker for preeclampsia, but the cutoff values may vary with gestational age and assay platform. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare multiples of the median of the maternal plasma soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor ratio, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1, placental growth factor, and conventional clinical and laboratory values in their ability to predict preeclampsia with severe features. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a cohort study across 18 United States centers involving hospitalized individuals with hypertension between 23 and 35 weeks' gestation. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses of maternal plasma biomarkers, highest systolic or diastolic blood pressures, and laboratory values at enrollment were performed for the prediction of preeclampsia with severe features. The areas under the curve were compared, and quasi-Poisson regression models were fitted to estimate relative risks. The primary outcome was preeclampsia with severe features within 2 weeks of enrollment. Secondary outcomes were a composite of severe adverse maternal outcomes (elevated liver enzymes, low platelets count, placental abruption, eclampsia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and pulmonary edema) and a composite of severe adverse perinatal outcomes (birth weight below the third percentile, very preterm birth [<32 weeks' gestation], and fetal or neonatal death). RESULTS: Of the 543 individuals included in the study, preeclampsia with severe features within 2 weeks was observed in 33.1% (n=180) of them. A receiver operating characteristic curve-derived cutoff of 11.5 multiples of the median for the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor plasma ratio provided good sensitivity (90.6%), specificity (76.9%), positive predictive value (66.0%), negative predictive value (94.3%), positive likelihood ratio (3.91), negative likelihood ratio (0.12), and accuracy (81.4%) for preeclampsia with severe features within 2 weeks. This cutoff was used to compare test positive cases (≥ cutoff) and test negative cases (< cutoff). Preeclampsia with severe features (66.0% vs 5.7%; P<.001) and composites of severe adverse maternal (8.11% vs 2.7%; P=.006) or perinatal (41.3% vs 10.14%; P=.001) outcomes within 2 weeks were more frequent in test positive cases than in test negative cases. A soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor plasma ratio ≥11.5 multiples of the median was independently associated with preeclampsia with severe features (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 9.08; 95% confidence interval, 6.11-14.06; P<.001) and a composite of severe adverse perinatal outcomes (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 9.42; 95% confidence interval, 6.36-14.53; P<.001) but not with a composite of severe adverse maternal outcomes (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 2.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.95-5.54; P=.08). The area under the curve for the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor plasma ratio in multiples of the median (0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.89-0.94) for preeclampsia with severe features within 2 weeks was significantly higher (P<.001 for all comparisons) than either plasma biomarker alone or any other parameter with the exception of absolute soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor plasma ratio values. CONCLUSION: A soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 to placental growth factor plasma ratio ≥11.5 multiples of the mean among hospitalized patients with hypertension between 23 and 35 week's gestation predicts progression to preeclampsia with severe features and severe adverse perinatal outcomes within 2 weeks.

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders: biomarker discovery using plasma proteomics.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders encompass a range of mental health disorders that occur during pregnancy and up to 1 year postpartum, affecting approximately 20% of women. Traditional risk factors, such as a history of depression and pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, are known. Their predictive utility, however, is not specific or sensitive enough to inform clinical decision-making or prevention strategies for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Better diagnostic and prognostic models are needed for early identification and referral to treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine if a panel of novel third-trimester plasma protein biomarkers in pregnant women can be used to identify those who have a high predisposed risk for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders within 3 months postpartum. STUDY DESIGN: We studied 52 women (n=34 with a risk for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and n=18 controls) among whom mental health screening was conducted at 2 time points, namely in the third trimester and again at 3 months postdelivery. An elevated perinatal mood and anxiety disorder risk was identified by screening individuals with above-validated cutoffs for depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale ≥12), anxiety (Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale ≥7), and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (Impact of Events Scale >26) at both time points. Plasma samples collected in the third trimester were screened using the aptamer-based SomaLogic SomaScan proteomic assay technology to evaluate perinatal mood and anxiety disorder-associated changes in the expression of 1305 protein analytes. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis was conducted to highlight pathophysiological relationships between perinatal mood and anxiety disorder-specific proteins found to be significantly up- or down-regulated in all subjects with perinatal mood and anxiety disorder and in those with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and no preeclampsia. RESULTS: From a panel of 53 significant perinatal mood and anxiety disorder-associated proteins, a unique 20-protein signature differentiated perinatal mood and anxiety disorder cases from controls in a principal component analysis (P<.05). This protein signature included NCAM1, NRCAM, and NTRK3 that converge around neuronal signaling pathways regulating axonal guidance, astrocyte differentiation, and maintenance of GABAergic neurons. Interestingly, when we restricted the analysis to subjects without preeclampsia, a 30-protein signature differentiated perinatal mood and anxiety disorder cases from all controls without overlap on the principal component analysis (P<.001). In the nonpreeclamptic perinatal mood and anxiety disorder group, we observed increased expression of proteins, such as CXCL11, CXCL6, MIC-B, and B2MG, which regulate leucocyte migration, inflammation, and immune function. CONCLUSION: Participants with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders had a unique and distinct plasma protein signature that regulated a variety of neuronal signaling and proinflammatory pathways. Additional validation studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine whether some of these molecules can be used in conjunction with traditional risk factors for the early detection of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

Routine Multidisciplinary Review of Severe Maternal Morbidity Is Associated with a Reduction in Preventable Cases of Severe Maternal Morbidity.

OBJECTIVE: Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) has increased by 45% in the United States and is estimated to affect up to 1.5% of all deliveries. Research has not yet been conducted that demonstrates a benefit to multidisciplinary review of SMM. The aim of our study was to determine if standardized, routine review of the cases of SMM by a multidisciplinary committee results in a reduction of potentially preventable cases of SMM. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study of all women admitted for delivery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from March 1, 2012 to September 30, 2016. Our cohort was separated into two groups: a preintervention group composed of women admitted for delivery prior to the implementation of the obstetric Quality and Peer Review Committee (OBQPRC), and a postintervention group where the committee had been well established. Cases of confirmed SMM were presented to a multidisciplinary research committee, and the committee determined whether opportunities for improvement in care existed. The groups were compared with determine if there was a decreased incidence of preventable SMM following the implementation of the OBQPRC standardized review process. RESULTS: There were 30,319 deliveries during the study period; 13,120 deliveries in the preintervention group; and 13,350 deliveries in the postintervention group (2,649 deliveries during the transition period). There was no difference in the rate of SMM between the preintervention (125; 0.95%) and postintervention (129; 0.97%) groups, (p = 0.91). There was a significantly lower rate of opportunity for the improvement in care in the postintervention group (29.5%) compared with the preintervention group (46%; p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a significant reduction in the rate of potentially preventable SMM following the implementation of routine review of all SMM suggesting that this process plays an important role in improving maternal care and outcomes. KEY POINTS: · Benefit to routine review of SMM has not been demonstrated.. · Routine review of SMM is associated with 36% reduction in potentially preventable SMM.. · This is the first study to demonstrate the benefit of routine review of SMM..

Association of Spontaneous Preterm Delivery and Future Maternal Cardiovascular Disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are well established. However, little is known about a woman's cardiovascular response to pregnancy, which appears to be an early marker of future maternal CVD risk. Spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD) has been associated with a ≤3-fold increased risk of maternal CVD death later in life compared with having a term delivery. This review focuses on 3 key areas to critically assess the association of sPTD and future maternal CVD risk: (1) CVD risk factors, (2) inflammatory biomarkers of interest, and (3) specific forms of vascular dysfunction, such as endothelial function and arterial stiffness, and mechanisms by which each may be linked to sPTD. The association of sPTD with subsequent future maternal CVD risk suggests that a woman's abnormal response to pregnancy may serve as her first physiological stress test. These findings suggest that future research is needed to understand why women with sPTD may be at risk for CVD to implement effective interventions earlier in a woman's life.

Obstetric Care Consensus #9: Levels of Maternal Care: (Replaces Obstetric Care Consensus Number 2, February 2015).

Maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, particularly among women of color, have increased in the United States. The leading medical causes of maternal mortality include cardiovascular disease, infection, and common obstetric complications such as hemorrhage and vary by timing relative to the end of pregnancy. Although specific modifications in the clinical management of some of these conditions have been instituted, more can be done to improve the system of care for high-risk women at facility and population levels. The goal of levels of maternal care is to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, including existing disparities, by encouraging the growth and maturation of systems for the provision of risk-appropriate care specific to maternal health needs. To standardize a complete and integrated system of perinatal regionalization and risk-appropriate maternal care, this classification system establishes levels of maternal care that pertain to basic care (level I), specialty care (level II), subspecialty care (level III), and regional perinatal health care centers (level IV). The determination of the appropriate level of care to be provided by a given facility should be guided by regional and state health care entities, national accreditation and professional organization guidelines, identified regional perinatal health care service needs, and regional resources. State and regional authorities should work together with the multiple institutions within a region, and with the input from their obstetric care providers, to determine the appropriate coordinated system of care and to implement policies that promote and support a regionalized system of care. These relationships enhance the ability of women to give birth safely in their communities while providing support for circumstances when higher level resources are needed. This document is a revision of the original 2015 Levels of Maternal Care Obstetric Care Consensus, which has been revised primarily to clarify terminology and to include more recent data based on published literature and feedback from levels of maternal care implementation.

Putting the "M" back in maternal-fetal medicine: A 5-year report card on a collaborative effort to address maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have demonstrated continuous increased risk for maternal mortality and severe morbidity with racial disparities among non-Hispanic black women an important contributing factor. More than 50,000 women experienced severe maternal morbidity in 2014, with a mortality rate of 18.0 per 100,000, higher than in many other developed countries. In 2012, the first "Putting the 'M' back in Maternal-Fetal Medicine" session was held at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) Annual Meeting. With the realization that rising risk for severe maternal morbidity and mortality required action, the "M in MFM" meeting identified the following urgent needs: (i) to enhance education and training in maternal care for maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) fellows; (ii) to improve the medical care and management of pregnant women across the country; and (iii) to address critical research gaps in maternal medicine. Since that first meeting, a broad collaborative effort has made a number of major steps forward, including the proliferation of maternal mortality review committees, advances in research, increasing educational focus on maternal critical care, and development of comprehensive clinical strategies to reduce maternal risk. Five years later, the 2017 M in MFM meeting served as a "report card" looking back at progress made but also looking forward to what needs to be done over the next 5 years, given that too many mothers still experience preventable harm and adverse outcomes.

Birth plans-Impact on mode of delivery, obstetrical interventions, and birth experience satisfaction: A prospective cohort study.

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.

Understanding Severe Maternal Morbidity: Hospital-based Review.

Cases of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) share similarities to maternal deaths, including increasing in frequency and having similar rates of preventability. This article will review steps to organizing and implementing standard reviews of all cases of SMM. These steps include create multidisciplinary SMM review committee; identify potential SMM cases and confirm true SMM; identify the morbidity; abstract and summarize data; present case to review committee for discussion; determine events leading to morbidity; determine opportunities to improve outcome; assess provider, system and patient factors in cases with opportunities to improve outcome; make recommendations; and effect change and evaluate improvement.

Severe maternal morbidity: screening and review.

This document builds upon recommendations from peer organizations and outlines a process for identifying maternal cases that should be reviewed. Severe maternal morbidity is associated with a high rate of preventability, similar to that of maternal mortality. It also can be considered a near miss for maternal mortality because without identification and treatment, in some cases, these conditions would lead to maternal death. Identifying severe morbidity is, therefore, important for preventing such injuries that lead to mortality and for highlighting opportunities to avoid repeat injuries. The two-step screen and review process described in this document is intended to efficiently detect severe maternal morbidity in women and to ensure that each case undergoes a review to determine whether there were opportunities for improvement in care. Like cases of maternal mortality, cases of severe maternal morbidity merit quality review. In the absence of consensus on a comprehensive list of conditions that represent severe maternal morbidity, institutions and systems should either adopt an existing screening criteria or create their own list of outcomes that merit review.

Confirmed severe maternal morbidity is associated with high rate of preterm delivery.

BACKGROUND: Because severe maternal morbidity (SMM) is increasing in the United States, affecting up to 50,000 women per year, there was a recent call to review all mothers with SMM to better understand their morbidity and improve outcomes. Administrative screening methods for SMM have recently been shown to have low positive predictive value for true SMM after chart review. To ultimately reduce maternal morbidity and mortality we must better understand risk factors, and preventability issues about true SMM such that interventions could be designed to improve care. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine risk factors associated with true SMM identified from California delivery admissions, including the relationship between SMM and preterm delivery. STUDY DESIGN: In this retrospective cohort study, SMM cases were screened for using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for severe illness and procedures, prolonged postpartum length of stay, intensive care unit admission, and transfusion from all deliveries in 16 hospitals from July 2012 through June 2013. Charts of screen-positive cases were reviewed and true SMM diagnosed based on expert panel agreement. Underlying disease diagnosis was determined. Women with true-positive SMM were compared to SMM-negative women for the following variables: maternal age, ethnicity, gestational age at delivery, prior cesarean delivery, and multiple gestation. RESULTS: In all, 491 women had true SMM and 66,977 women did not have SMM for a 0.7% rate of true SMM. Compared to SMM-negative women, SMM cases were significantly more likely to be age >35 years (33.6 vs 23.8%; P < .0001), be African American (14.1 vs 7.9%; P < .0001), have had a multiple gestation (9.7 vs 2.1%; P < .0001), and, for the multiparous women, have had a prior cesarean delivery (58 vs 30.2%; P < .0001). Preterm delivery was significantly more common in SMM women compared to SMM-negative women (41 vs 8%; P < .0001), including delivery <32 weeks (18 vs 2%; P < .0001). The most common underlying disease was obstetric hemorrhage (42%) followed by hypertensive disorders (20%) and placental hemorrhage (14%). Only 1.6% of women with SMM had cardiovascular disease as the underlying disease category. CONCLUSION: An extremely high proportion of women with severe morbidity (42.5%) delivered preterm with 17.8% delivering <32 weeks, which underscores the importance of access to appropriate-level care for mothers with SMM and their newborns. Further, the extremely high rate of preterm delivery (75%) in women with placental hemorrhage in combination with their 63% prior cesarean delivery rate highlights another risk of prior cesarean delivery: subsequent preterm delivery. These data provide a reminder that a cesarean delivery could be a contributing factor to not only hemorrhage-related SMM, but also to increased subsequent preterm delivery, more reason to continue national efforts to safely reduce initial cesarean deliveries.

Severe maternal morbidity in a large cohort of women with acute severe intrapartum hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive diseases of pregnancy are associated with severe maternal morbidity and remain common causes of maternal death. Recently, national guidelines have become available to aid in recognition and management of hypertension in pregnancy to reduce morbidity and mortality. The increased morbidity related to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is presumed to be associated with the development of severe hypertension. However, there are few data on specific treatment or severe maternal morbidity in women with acute severe intrapartum hypertension as opposed to severe preeclampsia. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to characterize maternal morbidity associated with women with acute severe intrapartum hypertension, and to determine whether there was an association between various first-line antihypertensive agents and posttreatment blood pressure. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study of women delivering between July 2012 and August 2014 at 15 hospitals participating in the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative compared women with severe intrapartum hypertension (systolic blood pressure >160 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure >105 mm Hg) to women without severe hypertension. Hospital Patient Discharge Data and State of California Birth Certificate Data were used. Severe maternal morbidity using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria based on International Classification of Diseases-9 codes was compared between groups. The efficacy of different antihypertensive medications in meeting the 1-hour posttreatment goal was determined. Statistical methods included distribution appropriate univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: There were 2252 women with acute severe intrapartum hypertension and 93,650 women without severe hypertension. Severe maternal morbidity was significantly more frequent in the women with severe hypertension (8.8%) compared to the control women (2.3%) (P < .0001). Severe maternal morbidity rates did not increase with increasing severity of blood pressures (P = .90 for systolic and .42 for diastolic). There was no difference in severe maternal morbidity between women treated (8.6%) and women not treated (9.5%) (P = .56). Antihypertensive treatment rates were significantly higher in hospitals with a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (85.8%) compared to a level III neonatal intensive care unit (80.2%) (P < .001), and in higher-volume hospitals (84.5%) compared to lower-volume hospitals (69.1%) (P < .001). Severe maternal morbidity rates among severely hypertensive women were significantly higher in hospitals with level III neonatal intensive care unit level compared to hospitals with a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (10.6% vs 5.7%, respectively; P < .001), and significantly higher in low-delivery volume hospitals compared to high-delivery volume hospitals (15.5% vs 7.6%, respectively; P < .001). Only 53% of women treated with oral labetalol as first-line medication met the posttreatment goal of nonsevere hypertension, significantly less than those treated with intravenous hydralazine, intravenous labetalol, or oral nifedipine (68%, 71%, and 82%, respectively) (P = .001). Severe intrapartum hypertension remained untreated in 17% of women. CONCLUSION: Women with acute severe intrapartum hypertension had a significantly higher risk of severe maternal morbidity compared to women without severe hypertension. Significantly lower antihypertensive treatment rates and higher severe maternal morbidity rates were seen in lower-delivery volume hospitals.

Opportunities for improvement in care among women with severe maternal morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Severe maternal morbidity is increasing in the United States and has been estimated to occur in up to 1.3% of all deliveries. A standardized, multidisciplinary approach has been recommended to identify and review cases of severe maternal morbidity to identify opportunities for improvement in maternal care. OBJECTIVE: The aims of our study were to apply newly described gold standard guidelines to identify true severe maternal morbidity and to utilize a recently recommended multidisciplinary approach to determine the incidence of and characterize opportunities for improvement in care. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all women admitted for delivery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from Jan. 1, 2012, through June 30, 2014. Electronic medical records were screened for severe maternal morbidity using the following criteria: International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for severe illness identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; prolonged length of stay; intensive care unit admission; transfusion of ≥4 U of packed red blood cells; or hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge. A multidisciplinary team conducted in-depth review of each medical record that screened positive for severe maternal morbidity to determine if true severe maternal morbidity occurred. Each true case of severe maternal morbidity was presented to a multidisciplinary committee to determine a consensus opinion about the morbidity and if opportunities for improvement in care existed. Opportunity for improvement was described as strong, possible, or none. The incidence of opportunity for improvement was determined and categorized as system, provider, and/or patient. Morbidity was classified by primary cause, organ system, and underlying medical condition. RESULTS: There were 16,323 deliveries of which 386 (2%) screened positive for severe maternal morbidity. Following review of each case, true severe maternal morbidity was present in 150 (0.9%) deliveries. We determined by multidisciplinary committee review that there was opportunity for improvement in care in 66 (44%) cases. The 2 most common underlying causes of severe maternal morbidity were hemorrhage (71.3%) and preeclampsia/eclampsia (10.7%). In cases with opportunity for improvement in care, provider factors were present in 78.8%, followed by patient (28.8%) and system (13.6%) factors. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the feasibility of a recently recommended review process of severe maternal morbidity at a large, academic medical center. We demonstrated that opportunity for improvement in care exists in 44% of cases and that the majority of these cases had contributing provider factors.

Measuring severe maternal morbidity: validation of potential measures.

BACKGROUND: Both maternal mortality rate and severe maternal morbidity rate have risen significantly in the United Sates. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention introduced International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, criteria for defining severe maternal morbidity with the use of administrative data sources; however, those criteria have not been validated with the use of chart reviews. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the current study was to validate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, criteria for the identification of severe maternal morbidity. This analysis initially required the development of a reproducible set of clinical conditions that were judged to be consistent with severe maternal morbidity to be used as the clinical gold standard for validation. Alternative criteria for severe maternal morbidity were also examined. STUDY DESIGN: The 67,468 deliveries that occurred during a 12-month period from 16 participating California hospitals were screened initially for severe maternal morbidity with the presence of any of 4 criteria: (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, diagnosis and procedure codes; (2) prolonged postpartum length of stay (>3 standard deviations beyond the mean length of stay for the California population); (3) any maternal intensive care unit admissions (with the use of hospital billing sources); and (4) the administration of any blood product (with the use of transfusion service data). Complete medical records for all screen-positive cases were examined to determine whether they satisfied the criteria for the clinical gold standard (determined by 4 rounds of a modified Delphi technique). Descriptive and statistical analyses that included area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and C-statistic were performed. RESULTS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, criteria had a reasonably high sensitivity of 0.77 and a positive predictive value of 0.44 with a C-statistic of 0.87. The most important source of false-positive cases were mothers whose only criterion was 1-2 units of blood products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, criteria screen rate ranged from 0.51-2.45% among hospitals. True positive severe maternal morbidity ranged from 0.05-1.13%. When hospitals were grouped by their neonatal intensive care unit level of care, severe maternal morbidity rates were statistically lower at facilities with lower level neonatal intensive care units (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, criteria can serve as a reasonable administrative metric for measuring severe maternal morbidity at population levels. Caution should be used with the use of these criteria for individual hospitals, because case-mix effects appear to be strong.

Birth Plans: What Matters for Birth Experience Satisfaction.

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.

Easy as ABC: A System to Stratify Category II Fetal Heart Rate Tracings.

Objective To evaluate whether a subcategory system for category II tracings can improve team communication and perinatal outcomes. Study Design We collected data prospectively for 15 months, first using the NICHD system, followed by the ABC system, which divides category II tracings into subcategories A, B, and C, each representing increased risk for metabolic acidemia. We surveyed providers about communication effectiveness and agreement on tracing interpretation for each system. In cases where the communication system was used to alert an off-site physician about a category II tracing, we compared arrival to L&D and NICU admissions. Results The ABC system was preferred (69%, n = 152) and considered a more effective tool for communicating concerning fetal status (80% vs. 43%, p < 0.01). Participants also reported greater agreement on tracing interpretation (79% for ABC vs. 64% for NICHD, p = 0.046). When an off-site physician was contacted about a category II tracing (n = 95), they were more likely to arrive to L&D (44% vs. 20%, p < 0.01) and have fewer NICU admissions (0% vs. 6%, p < 0.01) with the ABC system. Conclusion The ABC system resulted in improved team communication, increased physician response, and decreased NICU admissions. Using standardized communication may offer a useful strategy for identifying and expediting care.

Levels of maternal care.

In the 1970s, studies demonstrated that timely access to risk-appropriate neonatal and obstetric care could reduce perinatal mortality. Since the publication of the Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy report, more than 3 decades ago, the conceptual framework of regionalization of care of the woman and the newborn has been gradually separated with recent focus almost entirely on the newborn. In this current document, maternal care refers to all aspects of antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care of the pregnant woman. The proposed classification system for levels of maternal care pertains to birth centers, basic care (level I), specialty care (level II), subspecialty care (level III), and regional perinatal health care centers (level IV). The goal of regionalized maternal care is for pregnant women at high risk to receive care in facilities that are prepared to provide the required level of specialized care, thereby reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States.

Perinatal palliative care: Parent perceptions of caring in interactions surrounding counseling for risk of delivering an extremely premature infant.

OBJECTIVE: When infants are at risk of being born at a very premature gestation (22-25 weeks), parents face important life-support decisions because of the high mortality for such infants. Concurrently, providers are challenged with providing parents a supportive environment within which to make these decisions. Practice guidelines for medical care of these infants and the principles of perinatal palliative care for families can be resources for providers, but there is limited research to bridge these medical and humanistic approaches to infant and family care. The purpose of this article is to describe how parents at risk of delivering their infant prior to 26 weeks gestation interpreted the quality of their interpersonal interactions with healthcare providers. METHODS: Directed content analysis was employed to perform secondary analysis of data from 54 parents (40 mothers and 14 fathers) from the previously coded theme "Quality of Interactions." These categorized data described parents' encounters, expectations, and experiences of interactions that occurred prenatally with care providers. For this analysis, Swanson's theory of caring was selected to guide analysis and to delineate parents' descriptions of caring and uncaring interactions. RESULTS: Parents' expectations for caring included: (a) respecting parents and believing in their capacity to make the best decisions for their family (maintaining belief); (b) understanding parents' experiences and their continued need to protect their infant (knowing); (c) physically and emotionally engaging with the parents (being with); (d) providing unbiased information describing all possibilities (enabling); and (e) helping parents navigate the system and creating a therapeutic environment for them in which to make decisions (doing for). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Understanding parents' prenatal caring expectations through Swanson's theory gives deeper insights, aligning their expectations with the palliative care movement.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Peripartum Pain Assessment and Management.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to determine if there were racial/ethnic disparities in pain assessment and management from labor throughout the postpartum period. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of all births from January 2019 to December 2021 in a single urban, quaternary care hospital, excluding patients with hysterectomy, ICU stay, transfusion of more than 3 units of packed red blood cells, general anesthesia, or evidence of a substance abuse disorder. We characterized and compared patterns of antepartum and postpartum pain assessments, epidural use, pain scores, and postpartum pain management by racial/ethnic group with bivariable analyses. Multivariable regression was performed to test for an association between race/ethnicity and amount of opioid pain medication in milligram equivalent units, stratified by delivery mode. RESULTS: There were 18,085 births between 2019 and 2021 with available race/ethnicity data. Of these, 58.3% were white, 15.0% were Hispanic, 11.9% were Asian, 7.4% were Black, and the remaining 7.4% were classified as Other/Declined. There were no significant differences by race/ethnicity in the number of antepartum or postpartum pain assessments or the proportion of patients who received epidural analgesia. Black and Hispanic patients reported the highest maximum postpartum pain scores after vaginal and cesarean birth compared to white and Asian patients. However, Black and Hispanic patients received lower daily doses of opioid medications than white patients, regardless of delivery mode. After adjusting for patient factors and non-opioid medication dosages, all other racial/ethnic groups received less opioid medication than white patients. CONCLUSION: Inequities were found in postpartum pain treatment, including among patients reporting the highest pain levels.

Influence of body weight, ethnicity, oral contraceptives, and pregnancy on the pharmacokinetics of azithromycin in women of childbearing age.

Women of childbearing age commonly receive azithromycin for the treatment of community-acquired infections, including during pregnancy. This study determined azithromycin pharmacokinetics in pregnant and nonpregnant women and identified covariates contributing to pharmacokinetic variability. Plasma samples were collected by using a sparse-sampling strategy from pregnant women at a gestational age of 12 to 40 weeks and from nonpregnant women of childbearing age receiving oral azithromycin for the treatment of an infection. Pharmacokinetic data from extensive sampling conducted on 12 healthy women were also included. Plasma samples were assayed for azithromycin by high-performance liquid chromatography. Population data were analyzed by nonlinear mixed-effects modeling. The population analysis included 53 pregnant and 25 nonpregnant women. A three-compartment model with first-order absorption and a lag time provided the best fit of the data. Lean body weight, pregnancy, ethnicity, and the coadministration of oral contraceptives were covariates identified as significantly influencing the oral clearance of azithromycin and, except for oral contraceptive use, intercompartmental clearance between the central and second peripheral compartments. No other covariate relationships were identified. Compared to nonpregnant women not receiving oral contraceptives, a 21% to 42% higher dose-adjusted azithromycin area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) occurred in non-African American women who were pregnant or receiving oral contraceptives. Conversely, azithromycin AUCs were similar between pregnant African American women and nonpregnant women not receiving oral contraceptives. Although higher levels of maternal and fetal azithromycin exposure suggest that lower doses be administered to non-African American women during pregnancy, the consideration of azithromycin pharmacodynamics during pregnancy should guide any dose adjustments.