Flexibility in Home Delivery by Enabling Time Window Changes

To enhance the perceived quality of home delivery services more and more flexibility is offered to the receivers. Enabling same-day delivery, communicating predefined narrow time windows, choosing the time windows and alternative address delivery add to the receiver’s experience, making the delivery company an interesting partner for parcel...

Dynamic Assignment Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows

Differences in optimality index between planned place of birth in a birth centre and alternative planned places of birth, a nationwide prospective cohort study in The Netherlands: results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study

Objectives To compare the Optimality Index of planned birth in a birth centre with planned birth in a hospital and planned home birth for low-risk term pregnant women who start labour under the responsibility of a community midwife. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Low-risk pregnant women under care of a community midwife and living in a...

Cost-effectiveness of planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth: results of the Dutch Birth Centre study

Objectives To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth for low-risk women. In addition, a distinction has been made between different types of locations and integration profiles of birth centres. Design Economic evaluation based on a prospective cohort study. Setting...

Good reliability and validity for a new utility instrument measuring the birth experience, the Labor and Delivery Index

Objectives To validate the Labor and Delivery Index (LADY-X), a new delivery-specific utility measure. Study Design and Setting In a test–retest design, women were surveyed online, 6 to 8 weeks postpartum and again 1 to 2 weeks later. For reliability testing, we assessed the standard error of measurement (S.E.M.) and the intraclass correlation...

Pregnancy and labour in the dutch maternity care system: What is normal? The role division between midwives and obstetricians

Introduction: In the Dutch maternity care system, the role division between independently practising midwives (who take care of normal pregnancy and childbirth) and obstetricians (who care for pathologic pregnancy and childbirth) has been established in the so-called " List of Obstetric Indications" (LOI). The LOI designates the most appropriate...

Data of Dutch homebirths needs rectification

Etnische verschillen in de voorkeur voor thuisbevallingen en het zorgtraject dat zwangeren doorlopen [Ethnic differences in preference for home delivery and in pregnancy care received by pregnant women]

Objective. To investigate differences among pregnant women from various ethnic groups in terms of pregnancy care and the place of delivery. Design. Descriptive, retrospective study. Method. Data from the Dutch Perinatal Registries during the period 1995-2002, representing a total of 1,401,892 pregnancies, were linked and analysed for perinatal...

Looking back on birth three years later: Factors associated with a negative appraisal in England and in the Netherlands

In 2003 research was conducted in England (n=738) to further our understanding of factors that relate to women's longer-term appraisal of their birth experience. Women's appraisals are likely to be influenced by the culture in which they give birth and the predominant norms at that time. To explore this further, the study was replicated in the...

Infant milk feeding practices in the Netherlands and associated factors

Aim: The aim of the study was to describe infant feeding practices and associated factors, and to explore mothers' main reasons for starting and stopping breastfeeding. Methods: We performed a national inquiry into milk feeding practices among 9133 Dutch infants aged <7 mo by means of a questionnaire. Results: 78% of mothers initiated...

Maternal factors and the probability of a planned home birth

Objectives: In the Netherlands, approximately one-third of births are planned home births, mostly supervised by a midwife. The relationship between maternal demographic factors and home births supervised by midwives was examined. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Dutch national perinatal registries of the year 2000. Population: All women...

Substandard factors in perinatal care in The Netherlands: A regional audit of perinatal deaths

Background. To determine: 1) whether substandard factors were present in cases of perinatal death, and to what extent another course of action might have resulted in a better outcome, and 2) whether there were differences in the frequency of substandard factors by level of care, particularly between midwives and gynecologists/obstetricians and...