Women's characteristics and care outcomes of caseload midwifery care in the Netherlands: a retrospective cohort study

Background: The maternity care system in the Netherlands is well known for its support of community-based midwifery. However, regular midwifery practices typically do not offer caseload midwifery care - one-to-one continuity of care throughout pregnancy and birth. Because we know very little about the outcomes for women receiving caseload care...

Stuurgroep Zwangerschap en Geboorte pleit voor aandacht achterstandswijken: Hoe bereiken we allochtone zwangeren?

The Steering Committee Pregnancy and Birth that was created by the Minister of Health and Welfare to study the relatively high perinatal mortality in the Netherlands, advises that extra attention be paid to pregnant women in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The perinatal mortality is substantially higher in these neighborhoods and is the highest...

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...

Hoge perinatale sterfte in Nederland vergeleken met andere Europese landen: De Peristat-II-studie [Higher perinatal mortality in the Netherlands than in other European countries: The Peristat-II study]

Objective. Comparison of perinatal mortality in the Netherlands with that in other European countries (Peristat-II), and with data collected 5 years previously (Peristat-I). Design. Descriptive study. Method. Indicators of perinatal mortality which were developed for Peristat-I were used again in Peristat-II. Data on perinatal mortality in 2004...

NIV-richtlijn: Zwangerschap bij diabetes [NIV-richtlijn: Screening and diagnosis of diabetes in pregnancy]

Introduction: The Dutch Institute for Healthcare Improvement (CBO) and the Association of Physicians in Internal Medicine (NIV) have revised their guideline on diabetes and pregnancy. One chapter deals with the question of whether it is useful to screen for diabetes in pregnancy. The complications of gestational diabetes, the effect of treatment...

Suboptimal care and perinatal mortality in ten European regions: Methodology and evaluation of an international audit

Background: A European concerted action (the EuroNatal study) investigated differences in perinatal mortality between countries of Europe. This report describes the methods used in the EuroNatal international audit and discusses the validity of the results. Methods: Perinatal deaths between 1993 and 1998 in regions of ten European countries were...

Differences in perinatal mortality and suboptimal care between 10 European regions: Results of an international audit

Objective: A European concerted action (the EuroNatal study) investigated the background of differences in perinatal mortality between countries of Europe. The study aimed to determine the contribution of differences in quality of care, by looking at differences in the presence of suboptimal factors in individual cases of perinatal death. Design...

Evaluatie en validatie van perinatale-sterfte-audit door terugkoppeling naar zorgverleners [Evaluation and validation of a perinatal death audit by means of feedback to the caregivers]

Objective. To evaluate a perinatal audit procedure by communicating the results to the caregivers (midwives and obstetricians) involved, in order to determine whether the audit led to specific suggestions for improving practice and whether evaluation of the panel assessments by caregivers leads to a different evaluation of the audit process....

The influence of prenatal screening and termination of pregnancy on perinatal mortality rates

Objectives This study concerns the possible effect of practice of prenatal screening of congenital anomalies followed by termination of pregnancy on the perinatal mortality between European countries. Methods Data of nine region-specific EUROCAT registries from five European countries were used to compare the pregnancy termination rate and...

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...

Birth weight and perinatal mortality: A comparison of "optimal" birth weight in seven western European countries

Background. Previous studies have suggested that a population's entire birth weight distribution may be shifted towards higher or lower birth weights, and that optimal birth weight may be lower in populations with a lower average birth weight. We evaluated this hypothesis for seven western European countries. Methods. We obtained data on all...

Comparability of published perinatal mortality rates in Western Europe: The quantitative impact of differences in gestational age and birthweight criteria

Objective: To quantify the impact of publication criteria on differences in published national perinatal mortality rates among Western European countries. Design: Descriptive study of perinatal mortality rates in Western European countries with adjustments for international differences in publication data. Population: All live births and...

An European concerted action investigating the validity of perinatal mortality as an outcome indicator for the quality of antenatal and perinatal care

In this paper the concepts, objectives, design, and data analysis procedures of the EuroNatal study are described. This sutdy started in 1996 and is a concerted action including 14 countries in Europe. The EuroNatal study aims at determining the validity of national perinatal mortality rates as an outcome indicator for the quality of antenatal...