Obstetric interventions and pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in England: A nationwide cohort study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted maternity services worldwide and imposed restrictions on societal behaviours. This national study aimed to compare obstetric intervention and pregnancy outcome rates in England during the pandemic and corresponding pre-pandemic calendar periods, and to assess whether differences in these rates varied according to ethnic and socioeconomic background. Methods and findings We conducted a national study of singleton births in English National Health Service hospitals. We compared births during the COVID-19 pandemic period (23 March 2020 to 22 February 2021) with births during the corresponding calendar period 1 year earlier. The Hospital Episode Statistics database provided administrative hospital data about maternal characteristics, obstetric inventions (induction of labour, elective or emergency cesarean section, and instrumental birth), and outcomes (stillbirth, preterm birth, small for gestational age [SGA; birthweight < 10th centile], prolonged maternal length of stay (≥3 days), and maternal 42-day readmission). Multi-level logistic regression models were used to compare intervention and outcome rates between the corresponding pre-pandemic and pandemic calendar periods and to test for interactions between pandemic period and ethnic and socioeconomic background. All models were adjusted for maternal characteristics including age, obstetric history, comorbidities, and COVID-19 status at birth. The study included 948,020 singleton births (maternal characteristics: median age 30 years, 41.6% primiparous, 8.3% with gestational diabetes, 2.4% with preeclampsia, and 1.6% with pre-existing diabetes or hypertension); 451,727 births occurred during the defined pandemic period. Maternal characteristics were similar in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, stillbirth rates remained similar (0.36% pandemic versus 0.37% pre-pandemic, p = 0.16). Preterm birth and SGA birth rates were slightly lower during the pandemic (6.0% versus 6.1% for preterm births, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.97; 5.6% versus 5.8% for SGA births, aOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.93–0.96; both p < 0.001). Slightly higher rates of obstetric intervention were observed during the pandemic (40.4% versus 39.1% for induction of labour, aOR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03–1.05; 13.9% versus 12.9% for elective cesarean section, aOR 1.13, 95% CI 1.11–1.14; 18.4% versus 17.0% for emergency cesarean section, aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06–1.08; all p < 0.001). Lower rates of prolonged maternal length of stay (16.7% versus 20.2%, aOR 0.77, 95% CI 0.76–0.78, p < 0.001) and maternal readmission (3.0% versus 3.3%, aOR 0.88, 95% CI 0.86–0.90, p < 0.001) were observed during the pandemic period. There was some evidence that differences in the rates of preterm birth, emergency cesarean section, and unassisted vaginal birth varied according to the mother’s ethnic background but not according to her socioeconomic background. A key limitation is that multiple comparisons were made, increasing the chance of false-positive results. Conclusions In this study, we found very small decreases in preterm birth and SGA birth rates and very small increases in induction of labour and elective and emergency cesarean section during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some evidence of a slightly different pattern of results in women from ethnic minority backgrounds. These changes in obstetric intervention rates and pregnancy outcomes may be linked to women’s behaviour, environmental exposure, changes in maternity practice, or reduced staffing levels.

Puerperal Complications in a Tertiary Hospital

Postnatal period is considered as an important part in reproductive life of women. Even though the antenatal phase and labour are utmost important, puerperal phase of pregnancy cannot be overlooked. Puerperal complication can sometime lead to diabilities for lifelong of women. For the prevention of postnatal complication, antenatal prepadareness is needed. The objective of this study was to find out the incidence of puerperal complications and associated risk factors. This is a retrospective, descriptive study conducted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from April 2019 to March 2020. The cases of puerperal complications were noted from the record book from ward. The individual files were collected from record section. Data was collected from record files and analysed. Total number of deliveries were 4932 in one year. Out of which, 84 cases (1.7%) were admitted due to various puerperal complications. Majority of the women admitted with puerperal complications were between 21-29 years, 59.5%. Sixty-four percent (n=54) were primipara and 35.7%(n=30) were multipara. Seventy-six (90.5%) were term deliveries, 6(7%) were preterm and 2(2.4%) were post term deliveries. Sixty-two (74%) had emergency cesarean section as mode of delivery. Major indication of emergency cesarean section was fetal distress (29.8%, n=25). Surgical site infection (53/84,63%) was the commonest puerperal complication followed by puerperal sepsis (8/84,9.5%). Fifty- three cases of surgical site infection (SSI) were observed in patients who had undergone emergency cesarean section. Associated medical condition like hypertension, diabeties, anemia, obesity was seen in 33.5% (n=33) of the cases. Surgical Site Infection is the most common puerperal complication and commonly seen in women who had undergone emergency cesarean section.

Umbilical Cord Thrombosis: A Rare but Life-threatening Occurrence

Background: Thrombosis of umbilical vessels is a rare but life-threatening pregnancy complication. The correct diagnosis and clinical management of umbilical cord thrombosis remain a challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the meaningful clinical manifestations and features of umbilical cord thrombosis and its optimal management options.Methods: This retrospective study analyzed umbilical cord thrombosis cases enrolled from January 1, 2011, to May 31, 2021. Data were collected from medical archives where the diagnoses of all patients were established by histopathology.Results: A total of 66 patients with umbilical cord thrombosis were enrolled, including 20 patients with intrauterine fetal death and 6 with fatal labor induction in the second trimester. The overall incidence of umbilical cord thrombosis was 0.05% (66/123,746), and the incidence increased significantly in the last 2 years, reaching 0.19% in 2021. The chief complaint was decreased fetal movement (25/60) or nonreactive nonstress test (NST) (19/40). In the 20 patients with intrauterine stillbirth, 8 patients had ignored fetal movement and were referred to the hospital because of ultrasound findings of intrauterine stillbirth. Five patients were misdiagnosed with a single umbilical artery on prenatal ultrasound. Twenty patients underwent emergency cesarean section due to decreased fetal movement and unresponsive fetal monitoring; all neonates were alive. The gross examination of the placenta and cord revealed umbilical cord abnormalities in 26 patients (39.4%, 26/66). The pathological examination revealed venous, venous and arterial, and arterial thrombosis in 74.2%, 12.1%, and 13.6% of patients, respectively.Conclusions: The main manifestation of umbilical cord thrombosis was decreased or disappeared fetal movement. The importance of self-counting fetal movement should be emphasized to patients. The abnormalities in the umbilical cord are the main cause of this phenomenon. Focus on counting fetal movements, electronic fetal monitoring, and specific signs during a prenatal ultrasound can help early identification of umbilical cord thrombi. Emergency cesarean section is recommended to reduce the risk of interrupting the umbilical cord blood flow.

Effect of decision to delivery interval on perinatal outcomes during emergency cesarean deliveries in Ethiopia: A prospective cohort study

Background The National guidelines of most developed countries suggest a target of 30 minutes of the decision to delivery interval for emergency cesarean section. Such guidelines may not be feasible in poorly resourced countries and busy obstetric settings. It is generally accepted that the decision to delivery interval should be kept to the minimum time achievable to prevent adverse outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the average decision to delivery interval and its effect on perinatal outcomes in emergency cesarean section. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted from May to July 2020 at Bahir Dar City Public Hospitals. A total of 182 participants were enrolled, and data were collected using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. A systematic sampling technique was applied to select the study subjects. Data were cleaned and entered into Epi-Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25 software for analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of outcome variables, and variables with a p-value of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results The average decision to delivery interval was 43.73 ±10.55 minutes. Anesthesia time [AOR = 2.1, 95%CI = (1.3–8.4)], and category of emergency cesarean section [AOR = 3, 95% CI = (2.1–11.5)] were predictors of decision to delivery interval. The prolonged decision to delivery interval had a statistically significant association with composite adverse perinatal outcomes (odds ratio [OR] = 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] = (1.2–6.5). Conclusion The average decision to delivery interval was longer than the recommended time. It should always be considered an important factor contributing to perinatal outcomes. Therefore, to prevent neonatal morbidity and mortality, a time-dependent action is needed.

Personality impacts fear of childbirth and subjective birth experiences: A prospective-longitudinal study

Background Previous research suggests that less emotionally stable, less conscientious, less extraverted, and less agreeable women tend to suffer from higher fear of childbirth and experience their delivery as worse. Moreover, there is evidence that birth characteristics and unexpected incidents during delivery may impact women’s birth experiences. However, it remains unknown whether the role of personality in subjective birth experiences varies between women with different birth characteristics. Methods We used data from the Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development (MARI) Study, a regional-epidemiological study among pregnant women, who were prospectively followed up in multiple waves across the peripartum period. During pregnancy, personality was assessed with the short version of the Big Five Inventory. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/ Experience Questionnaire was used to measure fear of childbirth (version A) during pregnancy and subjective birth experiences (version B) within the first 10 days after delivery. Results Linear regressions revealed that lower levels of emotional stability, agreeableness, and extraversion predicted higher fear of childbirth during pregnancy. Moreover, personality affected subjective birth experiences especially in women with specific birth characteristics: Lower emotional stability predicted worse subjective birth experiences in women with (vs. without) a preterm delivery, and higher conscientiousness predicted worse subjective birth experiences in women with an emergency cesarean section (vs. spontaneous delivery). Subjective birth experiences were also worse in less emotionally stable and less open women with (general) anesthesia (vs. no anesthesia) during delivery. Finally, higher emotional stability predicted a subjective birth experience that was worse than expected, particularly in multiparous women and women without anesthesia during delivery. Conclusions These findings suggest that less emotionally stable, less conscientious, and less open women tend to experience their delivery as worse particularly in case of unexpected incidents (i.e., preterm delivery, emergency cesarean section, and necessity of anesthetics) and might thus profit from early targeted interventions.

A very preterm infant born to mother of mirror syndrome secondary to fetomaternal hemorrhage: a case report

Background Mirror syndrome (MS) is defined as maternal edema with fetal hydrops and placental edema with different etiologies, such as rhesus isoimmunization and twin-twin transfusion syndrome. Herein, we showcased a unique MS case secondary to fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH). Case presentation A 32-year-old gravida 2 para 0 woman diagnosed with fetal hydrops was admitted to our hospital. Maternal laboratory tests revealed anemia, slightly increased creatinine and uric acid levels, hypoproteinemia, and significantly increased alpha-fetoprotein and hemoglobin-F levels. Therefore, FMH was diagnosed initially. Two days after admission, the woman had unexpectedly progressive anasarca and started to feel chest distress, palpitations, lethargy, and oliguria, and MS was suspected. An emergency cesarean section was performed to terminate the pregnancy. The maternal clinical symptoms and laboratory tests rapidly improved after delivery. A very preterm infant with a 2080-g birthweight at 31 weeks gestation survived after emergency cesarean section, active resuscitation, emergency blood transfusion, abdominocentesis, and advanced life support. Conclusions FMH could develop into MS, providing new insights into the etiology of MS. Once MS is diagnosed, emergency cesarean section might be an alternative treatment. The very preterm infant survived with a favorable long-term outcome, and a well-trained perinatal work team is needed for such cases.