Intrapartum and childbirth care and outcomes in midwife-led birth centres in France: A nationwide descriptive study with an analysis of maternal and neonatal transfers.

Problem: Midwife-led birth centres (MLBCs) offer an alternative to obstetric-led units (OUs) for low-risk women. Despite positive assessments, their development still remains controversial.

Aim: To assess the appropriateness of care, intrapartum and childbirth care, and outcomes of women with a planned birth in MLBCs and to describe transfers to OUs and their risk factors.

Episiotomies and obstetric anal sphincter injuries following a restrictive episiotomy policy in France: An analysis of the 2010, 2016, and 2021 National Perinatal Surveys.

Background: The French guidelines have recommended a restrictive policy of episiotomy since 2005. We aimed to assess variations in the prevalence of both episiotomy and obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI) from the 2010, 2016, and 2021 National Perinatal Surveys.

Methods And Findings: A total of 29,750 women who had given birth to a live infant by vaginal delivery were included.

Emergency cerclage: Neonatal outcomes and evaluation of prognostic scores - A decade of experience at a tertiary center.

Objectives: Emergency cervical cerclage is a high-risk surgical procedure associated with maternal and fetal risks, including preterm birth. Authors have developed scores to try to predict the probability of success following emergency cerclage, but these tools have yet to be externally validated. Our main objective was to assess the preterm birth rate before 32 weeks following emergency cerclage.

Re-evaluating fetal scalp pH thresholds: An examination of fetal pH variations during labor.

Introduction: Since the 1970s, fetal scalp blood sampling (FSBS) has been used as a second-line test of the acid-base status of the fetus to evaluate fetal well-being during labor. The commonly employed thresholds that delineate normal pH (>7.25), subnormal (7.

Preferences for labor and childbirth, expressed orally or as a written birth plan: Prevalence and determinants from a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Shared decision-making is an important component of a patient-centered healthcare system. We assessed the prevalence of parturients with preferences for their labor and childbirth, expressed verbally in the birthing room or as a written birth plan, and studied maternal, obstetric, and organizational factors associated with their expression.

Methods: Data came from the 2016 National Perinatal Survey, a cross-sectional nationwide population-based survey conducted in France.

Does a three-hour delayed pushing benefit the mode of delivery?

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare two strategies for passive second stage management: three-hour vs two-hour delayed pushing after the diagnosis of full cervical dilation on mode of delivery and perinatal outcomes.

Study Design: This retrospective observational study included low-risk nulliparous women who reatched full cervical dilation under epidural analgesia with a single term fetus in cephalic presentation and normal fetal heart rate, between September and December 2016. Mode of delivery (spontaneous vaginal delivery versus operative delivery including cesarean section and instrumental vaginal delivery) and perinatal outcomes (post-partum hemorrhage, perineal lacerations, 5-min Apgar score, umbilical cord pH and transfer to neonatal intensive care unit) were compared between two maternity units: maternity unit A, where women could have up to a three-hour delayed pushing period after full cervical dilation diagnosis, and maternity unit B, where the delayed pushing period was a maximum of 2 h.

Peripartum severe acute maternal morbidity in low-risk women: A population-based study.

Background: Knowledge of severe acute maternal morbidity (SAMM) and its risk factors is constantly growing, but studies have rarely focused on the specific population of low-risk women.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence and to identify subgroups at risk of peripartum SAMM in low-risk women METHODS: From a population-based cohort-nested case-control study conducted in six French regions, i.e.

No pain management for labour: individual and organisational determinants: A secondary analysis of the 2016 French National Perinatal Survey.

Background: Disparities in access to pain management have been identified in several care settings, such as emergency departments and intensive care units, but with regard to labour analgesia, it remains poorly explored.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of women without pain management during labour and its individual and organisational determinants.

Design: Secondary analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional population-based study, the 2016 French National Perinatal Survey.

Cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated risk factors among frontline health care workers in Paris: the SEROCOV cohort study.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting whether health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 contamination and identifying risk factors is of major concern. In this multicenter prospective cohort study, HCWs from frontline departments were included in March and April 2020 and followed for 3 months. SARS-CoV-2 serology was performed at month 0 (M0), M1, and M3 and RT-PCR in case of symptoms.

Survival of children with rare structural congenital anomalies: a multi-registry cohort study.

Background: Congenital anomalies are the leading cause of perinatal, neonatal and infant mortality in developed countries. Large long-term follow-up studies investigating survival beyond the first year of life in children with rare congenital anomalies are costly and sufficiently large standardized cohorts are difficult to obtain due to the rarity of some anomalies. This study aimed to investigate the survival up to 10 years of age of children born with a rare structural congenital anomaly in the period 1995-2014 in Western Europe.

Prediction of successful labor induction with very unfavorable cervix: A comparison of six scores.

Objective: To compare the ability of six scoring systems to predict successful labor induction with cervical ripening among women with a Bishop score <3.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a prospective, multicenter observational Methods of Induction of Labor and Perinatal Outcomes (MEDIP) cohort study in 94 obstetrical French units. We included women with a Bishop score <3 before cervical ripening.

The Impact of Maternal Depression and Parent-Child Interactions on Risk of Parasitic Infections in Early Childhood: A Prospective Cohort in Benin.

Objectives: Maternal depression occurs in 13-20% of women from low-income countries, which is associated with negative child health outcomes, including diarrheal disease. However, few studies have investigated its impact on child risk of infectious disease. We studied the impacts of maternal depressive symptoms and parent-child interactions, independently, on the risk of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and soil-transmitted helminth infection in Beninese children.

Is duration of passive second stage associated with a risk of hysterotomy extension during cesarean?

Objective: To assess obstetric factors associated with hysterotomy extension among women undergoing a second-stage cesarean.

Study Design: This 5-year retrospective cohort study (2013-2017) included all women with second-stage cesarean deliveries of live-born singleton fetuses in cephalic presentation at term. It took place at a tertiary center that practices delayed pushing.

Predictors of incomplete maternal satisfaction with neuraxial labor analgesia: A nationwide study.

Purpose: Neuraxial analgesia is effective and widely used during labour, but little is known about maternal satisfaction with its use. Our objectives were to assess the frequency of incomplete maternal satisfaction with neuraxial labour analgesia and its predictors.

Methods: We extracted data from the 2016 National Perinatal Survey, a cross-sectional population-based study including all births during one week in all French maternity units.

Prevention of Neural Tube Defects in Europe: A Public Health Failure.

Thirty years ago it was demonstrated that folic acid taken before pregnancy and in early pregnancy reduced the risk of a neural tube defect (NTD). Despite Public Health Initiatives across Europe recommending that women take 0.4 mg folic acid before becoming pregnant and during the first trimester, the prevalence of NTD pregnancies has not materially decreased in the EU since 1998, in contrast to the dramatic fall observed in the USA.

Pre-conception serum ferritin concentrations are associated with metal concentrations in blood during pregnancy: A cohort study in Benin.

Background: Iron deficiency is a common nutritional deficiency that impacts maternal health and fetal development and is also associated with increased uptake of toxic metals. Women in sub-Saharan Africa are highly exposed to both iron deficiency and metals in the environment. As research on the developmental origins of health and disease increasingly shows impacts of pre-conception maternal health on pregnancy and fetal health, these environmental exposures are of concern.

Overuse of antenatal visits and ultrasounds in low-risk women: A national population-based study.

Background: A better understanding of the overuse of antenatal care is needed to improve its organisation to deal with limited medical resources and doctor shortages.

Objectives: To assess the proportion of women who overuse antenatal care and the associations of overuse with maternal characteristics and the qualifications of healthcare providers.

Methods: We used the 2016 National Perinatal Survey, a cross-sectional population-based survey, performed in all maternity units in France, including 13,132 women.

Repeated maternal ICU admission: Results from a nationwide analysis.

Objective: To determine the rate and profile of repeated maternal ICU admissions during or after pregnancy and to compare the characteristics of these women's first and second ICU admissions.

Methods: A descriptive analysis from the French national hospital discharge database that included all women admitted to an ICU during pregnancy or within 42 days after delivery, between 2010 and 2014.

Results: During the 5-year study period, there were 371 women with more than one maternal ICU admission, representing 2.

Soil-transmitted helminth infection in pregnancy and long-term child neurocognitive and behavioral development: A prospective mother-child cohort in Benin.

Background: An estimated 30% of women in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from soil-transmitted helminth infection during pregnancy (SHIP), which has been shown to increase risk of pre-term birth, low birth weight, and maternal anemia. A previous study in Benin found that SHIP was associated with impaired cognitive and gross motor development scores in 635 one-year-old children. The objective of the present study was to follow children prospectively to investigate whether the association between SHIP and child neurocognitive and behavioral development persisted at age six.

Survival of infants born with esophageal atresia among 24 international birth defects surveillance programs.

Background: Esophageal atresia (EA) affects around 2.3-2.6 per 10,000 births world-wide.

COVID-19-Related Fatalities and Intensive-Care-Unit Admissions by Age Groups in Europe: A Meta-Analysis.

Precise international estimates of the age breakdown of COVID-19-related deaths and intensive-care-unit (ICU) admissions are lacking. We evaluated the distribution of COVID-19-related fatalities and ICU admissions by age groups in Europe. On April 6, 2020, we systematically reviewed official COVID-19-related data from 32 European countries.