Impact of maternity care policy in Catalonia: a retrospective cross-sectional study of service delivery in public and private hospitals.

BACKGROUND: As a result of the growing number of interventions that are now performed in the context of maternity care, health authorities have begun to examine the possible repercussions for service provision and for maternal and neonatal health. In Spain the Strategy Paper on Normal Childbirth was published in 2008, and since then the authorities in Catalonia have sought to implement its recommendations. This paper reviews the current provision of maternity care in Catalonia. METHODS: This was a descriptive study. Hospitals were grouped according to their source of funding (public or private) and were stratified (across four strata) on the basis of the annual number of births recorded within their respective maternity service. Data regarding the distribution of obstetric professionals were taken from an official government survey of hospitals published in 2010. The data on obstetric interventions (caesarean, use of forceps, vacuum or non-specified instruments) performed in 2007, 2010 and 2012 were obtained by consulting discharge records of 44 public and 20 private hospitals, which together provide care in 98% of all births in Catalonia. Proportions and confidence intervals were calculated for each intervention performed in all full-term (37-42 weeks) singleton births. RESULTS: Analysis of staff profiles according to the stratification of hospitals showed that almost all the hospitals had more obstetricians than midwives among their maternity care staff. Public hospitals performed fewer caesareans [range between 19.20% (CI 18.84-19.55) and 28.14% (CI 27.73-28.54)] than did private hospitals [range between 32.21% (CI 31.78-32.63) and 39.43% (CI 38.98-39.87)]. The use of forceps has decreased in public hospitals. The use of a vacuum extractor has increased and is more common in private hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Caesarean section is the most common obstetric intervention performed during full-term singleton births in Catalonia. The observed trend is stable in the group of public hospitals, but shows signs of a rise among private institutions. The number of caesareans performed in accredited public hospitals covers a limited range with a stable trend. Among public hospitals the highest rate of caesareans is found in non-accredited hospitals with a lower annual number of births.

[Application of perineum heat therapy during partum to reduce injuries that require post-partum stitches]. / Aplicación de termoterapia en el periné durante el parto para reducir las lesiones que precisan sutura posparto.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effectiveness of heat, moist or dry to the perineum during delivery in order to reduce injuries requiring perineal suturing after birth, and to assess its safety in relation to the adaptation of the newborn to extrauterine life. METHOD: An open multicentre clinical trial directed from the School of Nursing at the University of Barcelona was carried out between 2009 and 2010 in 5 Catalan Hospitals. The sample consisted of 198 pregnant women subjected to the natural protocol for normal delivery assistance. The pregnant women were randomized to three study groups: moist heat (MHG), dry heat (DHG), and control (CG). Usual care of the perineum was performed during labour in all groups and MHG or GCS was also applied in the perineum in the intervention groups. The Apgar score in the newborn and perineum postpartum was then assessed. Statistical tests were performed using a 95% confidence interval. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS version 17. RESULTS: Perinea that required no suturing: MHG 71% (47) versus CG 56% (37), OR: 1.803; (95% CI: 0.881-3.687); DHG 62% (41) versus CG 56% (37), OR:1.285 (95% CI: 0.641-2.577); MHG 71% (47) versus DHG 62% (41), OR:1.402 (95% CI: 0.680-2.890). MEAN: Apgar score 5', MHG: 9.91; DHG: 9.98, CG: 9.98. p=0.431. CONCLUSIONS: The application of heat therapy to the perineum during labour did not significantly reduce perineal suturing after birth. However, better perineal results were observed with moist heat. Heat therapy does not alter neonatal outcomes measured by Apgar score.