Vaginal Birth After Caesarean Section in Low Resource Settings: The Clinical and Ethical Dilemma.

Vaginal birth after Caesarean section (VBAC) has long been practised in low resource settings using unconventional methods. This not only poses danger to the woman and her baby, but could also have serious legal and ethical implications. The adoption of this practice has been informed by observational studies with many deficiencies; this is so despite other studies from settings in which the standard of care is much better that show that elective repeat Caesarean section (ERCS) may actually be safer than VBAC. This raises questions about whether we should insist on a dangerous practice when there are safer alternatives. We highlight some of the challenges faced in making this decision, and discuss why the fear of ERCS may not be justified after all in low resource settings. Since a reduction in rates of Caesarean section may not be applicable in these regions, because their rates are already low, the emphasis should instead be on adequate birth spacing and safer primary operative delivery.

L'accouchement vaginal après césarienne (AVAC) est pratiqué depuis longtemps au moyen de méthodes non conventionnelles au sein de pays ne disposant que de faibles ressources. Cela entraîne non seulement des risques pour la femme et son enfant, mais peut également donner lieu à de graves conséquences sur les plans juridique et éthique. L'adoption de cette pratique est soutenue par des études observationnelles comptant de nombreuses carences. Cette pratique perdure malgré la publication d'autres études (issues de milieux au sein desquels les normes de diligence sont beaucoup plus élevées) qui indiquent que la tenue d'une césarienne itérative planifiée (CIP) pourrait en fait être plus sûre que l'AVAC, ce qui soulève des questions quant à la nécessité d'insister sur la mise en œuvre d'une pratique dangereuse, compte tenu de l'existence de solutions de rechange plus sûres. Nous soulignons certains des défis à relever pour la prise d'une décision dans de telles situations et traitons des raisons pour lesquelles les craintes quant à la tenue d'une CIP pourraient ne pas être justifiées après tout au sein des milieux ne disposant que de faibles ressources. Puisqu'une réduction des taux de césarienne pourrait ne pas être possible dans ces régions (car ces taux y sont déjà faibles), l'accent devrait plutôt être placé sur l'espacement adéquat des grossesses et sur la tenue d'un accouchement opératoire plus sûr dans le cadre de la première grossesse.

Correction: Individual, health facility and wider health system factors contributing to maternal deaths in Africa: A scoping review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000385.].

A systematic review of behaviour change interventions to improve maternal health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa.

The rate of decline in the global burden of avoidable maternal deaths has stagnated and remains an issue of concern in many sub-Saharan Africa countries. As per the most recent evidence, an average maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 223 deaths per 100,000 live births has been estimated globally, with sub-Saharan Africa's average MMR at 536 per 100,000 live births-more than twice the global average. Despite the high MMR, there is variation in MMR between and within sub-Saharan Africa countries. Differences in the behaviour of those accessing and/or delivering maternal healthcare may explain variations in outcomes and provide a basis for quality improvement in health systems. There is a gap in describing the landscape of interventions aimed at modifying the behaviours of those accessing and delivering maternal healthcare for improving maternal health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Our objective was to extract and synthesise the target behaviours, component behaviour change strategies and outcomes of behaviour change interventions for improving maternal health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Our protocol was published a priori on PROSPERO (registration number CRD42022315130). We searched ten electronic databases (PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL PLUS, African Index Medicus, African Journals Online, and Web of Science) and included randomised trials and quasi-experimental studies. We extracted target behaviours and specified the behavioural interventions using the Action, Actor, Context, Time, and Target (AACTT) framework. We categorised the behaviour change strategies using the intervention functions described in the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). We reviewed 52 articles (26 randomized trials and 26 quasi-experimental studies). They had a mixed risk of bias. Out of these, 41 studies (78.8%) targeted behaviour change of those accessing maternal healthcare services, while seven studies (13.5%) focused on those delivering maternal healthcare. Four studies (7.7%) targeted mixed stakeholder groups. The studies employed a range of behaviour change strategies, including education 37 (33.3%), persuasion 20 (18%), training 19 (17.1%), enablement 16 (14.4%), environmental restructuring 8 (7.2%), modelling 6 (5.4%) and incentivisation 5 (4.5%). No studies used restriction or coercion strategies. Education was the most common strategy for changing the behaviour of those accessing maternal healthcare, while training was the most common strategy in studies targeting the behaviour of those delivering maternal healthcare. Of the 52 studies, 40 reported effective interventions, 7 were ineffective, and 5 were equivocal. A meta-analysis was not feasible due to methodological and clinical heterogeneity across the studies. In conclusion, there is evidence of effective behaviour change interventions targeted at those accessing and/or delivering maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa. However, more focus should be placed on behaviour change by those delivering maternal healthcare within the health facilities to fast-track the reduction of the huge burden of avoidable maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.

Strategies for optimising early detection and obstetric first response management of postpartum haemorrhage at caesarean birth: a modified Delphi-based international expert consensus.

OBJECTIVE: There are no globally agreed on strategies on early detection and first response management of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) during and after caesarean birth. Our study aimed to develop an international expert's consensus on evidence-based approaches for early detection and obstetric first response management of PPH intraoperatively and postoperatively in caesarean birth. DESIGN: Systematic review and three-stage modified Delphi expert consensus. SETTING: International. POPULATION: Panel of 22 global experts in PPH with diverse backgrounds, and gender, professional and geographic balance. OUTCOME MEASURES: Agreement or disagreement on strategies for early detection and first response management of PPH at caesarean birth. RESULTS: Experts agreed that the same PPH definition should apply to both vaginal and caesarean birth. For the intraoperative phase, the experts agreed that early detection should be accomplished via quantitative blood loss measurement, complemented by monitoring the woman's haemodynamic status; and that first response should be triggered once the woman loses at least 500 mL of blood with continued bleeding or when she exhibits clinical signs of haemodynamic instability, whichever occurs first. For the first response, experts agreed on immediate administration of uterotonics and tranexamic acid, examination to determine aetiology and rapid initiation of cause-specific responses. In the postoperative phase, the experts agreed that caesarean birth-related PPH should be detected primarily via frequently monitoring the woman's haemodynamic status and clinical signs and symptoms of internal bleeding, supplemented by cumulative blood loss assessment performed quantitatively or by visual estimation. Postoperative first response was determined to require an individualised approach. CONCLUSION: These agreed on proposed approaches could help improve the detection of PPH in the intraoperative and postoperative phases of caesarean birth and the first response management of intraoperative PPH. Determining how best to implement these strategies is a critical next step.

Individual, health facility and wider health system factors contributing to maternal deaths in Africa: A scoping review.

The number of women dying during pregnancy and after childbirth remains unacceptably high, with African countries showing the slowest decline. The leading causes of maternal deaths in Africa are preventable direct obstetric causes such as haemorrhage, infection, hypertension, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labour. There is an information gap on factors contributing to maternal deaths in Africa. Our objective was to identify these contributing factors and assess the frequency of their reporting in published literature. We followed the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework for scoping reviews. We searched six electronic bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, African Index Medicus, African Journals Online (AJOL), French humanities and social sciences databases, and Web of Science. We included articles published between 1987 and 2021 without language restriction. Our conceptual framework was informed by a combination of the socio-ecological model, the three delays conceptual framework for analysing the determinants of maternal mortality and the signal functions of emergency obstetric care. We included 104 articles from 27 African countries. The most frequently reported contributory factors by level were: (1) Individual-level: Delay in deciding to seek help and in recognition of danger signs (37.5% of articles), (2) Health facility-level: Suboptimal service delivery relating to triage, monitoring, and referral (80.8% of articles) and (3) Wider health system-level: Transport to and between health facilities (84.6% of articles). Our findings indicate that health facility-level factors were the most frequently reported contributing factors to maternal deaths in Africa. There is a lack of data from some African countries, especially those countries with armed conflict currently or in the recent past. Information gaps exist in the following areas: Statistical significance of each contributing factor and whether contributing factors alone adequately explain the variations in maternal mortality ratios (MMR) seen between countries and at sub-national levels.

Intravenous Ceftriaxone Versus Multiple Dosing Regimes of Intravenous Anti-Staphylococcal Antibiotics for Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA): A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) is a common pathogen associated with a range of clinically important infections. MSSA can cause deep-seated infections requiring prolonged courses of intravenous antibiotic therapy to achieve effective resolution. The move toward ambulatory or outpatient delivery of parenteral antibiotics has led to an increase in the use of ceftriaxone as a pragmatic first choice given its advantageous single daily dosing schedule. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of once daily ceftriaxone in the treatment of infections due to confirmed or suspected MSSA to multiple dosing regimes of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics. METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Global Health, PubMed, EMBASE and CINAHL for randomised controlled trials as well as prospective and retrospective cohort studies that compared ceftriaxone to any multiple dosing regime of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics. Outcome measures were the proportion of patients with a resolution of infection based on time after initiation of therapy, adverse reactions, recurrence and duration of hospital admission. RESULTS: We included two randomized controlled trials, one prospective observational study and three retrospective cohort studies (643 participants; 246 children, 397 adults). There was no difference in time to resolution of symptoms. The number of adverse reactions, recurrence of bacteraemia and duration of hospital stay were not significantly different between ceftriaxone and other anti-staphylococcal antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: Based on a small number of low-quality studies, ceftriaxone is as effective as multiple dosing regimes for the treatment of infections due MSSA. An appropriately powered randomized trial is required to demonstrate equivalence and cost effectiveness.