The Royal Women's Hospital Family Birth Centre: the first 10 years reviewed.
In reviewing the first 10 years experience of the Royal Women's Hospital Family Birth Centre (FBC), we examined the outcomes of pregnancy and labour in a group of women who requested alternative birthing care and who were identified antenatally as being a 'low-risk' population. This study is a retrospective analysis of 5,365 women booked with the birth centre between 1980 and 1989. Over 16% of women developed antenatal complications precluding further care there, while a further 16% developed complications in labour requiring transfer out to conventional labour wards. Thus 67% of those originally booked delivered in the FBC. The instrumental delivery rate was 11%, and the Caesarean section rate was 4%. Of the women who delivered in the FBC, 3.1% had a postpartum haemorrhage and 1.8% required manual removal of placenta. Approximately 4% of babies born in the FBC required some resuscitation, and 0.8% needed admission to the neonatal nursery. Two perinatal deaths occurred in women admitted in labour to the FBC with a live baby, whilst 2 other women presented in labour with a fetal death in utero (perinatal mortality 0.89 per 1,000).
Stern
C
C
Royal Women's Hospital, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
Permezel
M
M
Petterson
C
C
Lawson
J
J
Eggers
T
T
Kloss
M
M
D016550:Birthing Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000453:epidemiology; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014739:Victoria