A comparison of low-risk pregnant women booked for delivery in two systems of care: shared-care (consultant) and integrated general practice unit. II. Labour and delivery management and neonatal outcome.
A random sample of low-risk pregnant women were equally divided into four groups of 63 nulliparae and multiparae each booked for care in a integrated general practice unit (GPU) and a shared-care (consultant) system. Selection criteria included only women who were admitted because they were in spontaneous labour or thought they were. Nulliparous women booked for shared-care came into hospital at a less advanced state of cervical dilatation than those booked for the GPU and spent longer (11 compared with 8 h) in hospital before delivery; the comparable durations in multiparae were 6 and 4 h. Both the first and second stages of labour were longer in the GPU-booked women but they received less pethidine and fewer had epidural analgesia; they received less electronic fetal monitoring, augmentation and forceps delivery, and fetal distress was diagnosed less often. The 1-min Apgar score was less than or equal to 6 in 17.5% of infants of nulliparae booked for the shared-care system compared with 1.6% of those booked for the GPU. The intubation rate of infants of nulliparae was 11% in the shared-care system compared with no intubations in the GPU. These comparisons demonstrate the simplicity and safety of delivery of low-risk women in the GPU as compared with deliveries of similar women in a shared-care (consultant) unit.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000773:Anesthesia, Obstetrical; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004739:England; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D012306:Risk; D013997:Time Factors