Factors affecting the provision of analgesia during childbirth, Japan

Enhancing Perinatal Safety with the Advancement of Obstetric Anesthesia in Japan

Japan is one of the most developed countries in the world, and perinatal care is safe, with low maternal and neonatal mortality rates. However, as birthrate declines, advanced maternal age and the number of cesarean deliveries increases, efforts must be made to maintain safety in the future. The characteristic of the delivery facilities is "many small clinics," and half of all facilities have fewer than 500 deliveries per year. Such clinics rarely have full-time anesthesiologists; therefore, anesthetic management, including cesarean deliveries and labor analgesia, is left to obstetricians' efforts. Furthermore, the prevalence of labor analgesia is very low compared with that in developed countries. In 2017, maternal deaths during labor analgesia were reported and became a social problem. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) appointed a research group to conduct a study on labor analgesia and issued recommendations for a safe delivery system in 2018. Even when recommendations are understood, changing the size and staffing of medical facilities is challenging, and the field needs specific interventions such as education and information sharing. Most maternal deaths related to anesthesia are preventable. Within the existing medical environment, a distinctive anesthetic management system is crucial to improve the safety of perinatal care, and cooperation among obstetricians, anesthesiologists, nurses, and midwives involved in perinatal care through education and management is essential. We review past perinatal safety initiatives in Japan and discuss the need to make obstetric anesthesia safer as future risks increase.

Nurses' perception of epidural services in a Johannesburg academic setting

BACKGROUND

 Labour pain is associated with detrimental maternal and foetal physical and psychological effects. Labour analgesia is a basic right for all women and labour epidural analgesia has been accepted as the gold standard for providing such, with reported improvement in patient satisfaction. In South Africa, studies have shown that labour epidural rates are low. At an academic hospital in Johannesburg, a 24-h labour epidural service combined with an awareness campaign and educational programme (LEAP) was initiated with the aim of improving labour epidural rates. Results showed a short-lived uptake with a subsequent decline.

OBJECTIVES

 This study explored the experiences of labour ward nursing staff regarding the labour epidural service at this academic hospital including perceived limitations and possible recommendations regarding improving service provision.

METHOD

 A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study was conducted. Purposive sampling was used with semistructured, audio-recorded individual interviews, thematic analysis was performed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase approach.

RESULTS

 The key theme is required education and supervision of epidural insertion (see page 3), management of childbirth and challenges related to epidural service provision.

CONCLUSION

 A positive sentiment was expressed by the participants; however, deficiencies in the service such as shortages of experienced personnel, work constraints and insufficient training may be affecting service sustainability. Further studies are recommended to form guidance towards the development and implementation of interventions to improve service delivery.Contribution: Provision of continual training and increased staffing of healthcare personnel will help improve the sustainability of the labour epidural service.

Postpartum Opioid Use among Military Health System Beneficiaries

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with opioid prescriptions to postpartum patients among TRICARE beneficiaries receiving care in the civilian health care system versus a military health care facility.

STUDY DESIGN

We evaluated postpartum opioid prescriptions filled at discharge among patients insured by TRICARE Prime/Prime Plus using the Military Health System Data Repository between fiscal years 2010 to 2015. We included women aged 15 to 49 years old and excluded abortive pregnancy outcomes and incomplete datasets. The primary outcome investigated mode of delivery and demographics for those filling an opioid prescription. Secondary outcomes compared prevalence of filled opioid prescription at discharge for postpartum patients within civilian care and military care.

RESULTS

Of a total of 508,258 postpartum beneficiaries, those in civilian health care were more likely to fill a discharge opioid prescription compared with those in military health care (OR 3.9, 95% CI 3.8-3.99). Cesarean deliveries occurred less frequently in military care (26%) compared with civilian care (30%), and forceps deliveries occurred more frequently in military care (1.38%) compared with civilian care (0.75%). Women identified as Asian race were least likely to fill an opioid prescription postpartum (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.75-0.83). Women aged 15 to 19 years had a lower odds of filling an opioid prescription (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.80-0.86). Women associated with a senior officer rank were less likely to fill an opioid prescription postpartum (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.73-0.91), while those associated with warrant officer rank were more likely to fill an opioid prescription (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.06-1.23).

CONCLUSION

Our data indicates that women who received care in civilian facilities were more likely to fill an opioid prescription at discharge when compared with military facilities. Factors such as race and age were associated with opioid prescription at discharge. This study highlights areas for improvement for potential further studies.

KEY POINTS

· Opioid prescription patterns for postpartum women may vary across the country.. · Our study indicates postpartum patients in civilian care are more likely to fill opioids postpartum.. · This study highlights a population which may have an improved opioid prescribing pattern..

Association between combined spinal-epidural analgesia and neurodevelopment at 3 years old: The Japan Environment and Children's Study

AIM

To investigate the association between maternal combined spinal-epidural analgesia during vaginal delivery and neurodevelopment in 3-year-old children.

METHODS

Using data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a birth cohort study on pregnant women and their offspring, we described the background, perinatal outcomes, and neurodevelopmental outcomes of participants with a singleton pregnancy who received combined spinal-epidural analgesia during vaginal delivery and those who did not. The association between maternal combined spinal-epidural analgesia and abnormalities in five domains of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition, was analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated.

RESULTS

Among 59 379 participants, 82 (0.1%) children (exposed group) were born to mothers who received combined spinal-epidural analgesia during vaginal delivery. In the exposed versus control groups, 1.2% versus 3.7% had communication abnormalities (adjusted odds ratio [95% CI]: 0.30 [0.04-2.19]), 6.1% versus 4.1% exhibited gross-motor abnormalities (1.36 [95% CI: 0.55-3.36]), 10.9% vs. 7.1% had fine-motor abnormalities (1.46 [95% CI: 0.72-2.96]), 6.1% vs. 6.9% showed difficulties with problem-solving (0.81 [95% CI: 0.33-2.01]), and 2.4% vs. 3.0% had personal-social problems (0.70 [95% CI: 0.17-2.85]).

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to combined spinal-epidural analgesia during vaginal delivery was not associated with the risk of neurodevelopmental abnormalities; however, the sample size of our study might not be appropriate for the study design.

Intrapartum Analgesia-Have Women's Preferences Changed over the Last Decade?

Background: Global access to social media has supposedly changed women’s awareness about the pharmacological and alternative methods of pain relief during vaginal delivery. The purpose of the study was to analyze changes in women’s preference and opinion about different forms of labor analgesia over the past decade. Materials and methods: The study was designed as an anonymous survey with questions about women’s knowledge and preference of different forms of pain relief in labor. The survey was conducted in 2010 and 2020, with data collected from 1175 women in 2010 and 1033 in 2020. Results: There were no differences between 2010 and 2020 in the proportion of women who wanted to receive analgesia in labor, at, respectively 67.9% of women in 2010 and 73.9% in 2020. About 50% of women chose epidural analgesia as the only efficacious method of pain relief in labor both in 2010 and 2020. There were no differences between the two time-points in the distribution of chosen methods of pain relief. In total, 92.3% of women in 2010 and 94.9% in 2020 thought that they should have the possibility of independent choice of analgesia method before the delivery (p < 0.04). Conclusions: A high proportion of Polish women choose EDA over other pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods of pain relief in labor, and this preference has not changed over the last decade. Increasing women’s knowledge about different methods of intrapartum pain relief may lead to wider use of nonpharmacological methods of pain relief.

Association between early essential newborn care and breastfeeding outcomes in eight countries in Asia and the Pacific: a cross-sectional observational -study

Objective

To explore the association between early essential newborn care (EENC) policy, practice and environmental interventions and breastfeeding outcomes.

Design

Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting

150 national, provincial and district hospitals implementing EENC in eight countries in East Asia and the Pacific.

Participants

1383 maternal interviews, chart reviews and environmental assessments during 2016 and 2017.

Main outcome measures

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), that is, feeding only breastmilk without other food or fluids since birth and before discharge, and, early breastfeeding initiation, that is, during skin-to-skin contact (SSC) with the mother without separation.

Results

Fifty-nine per cent of newborns initiated breastfeeding early and 83.5% were EBF. Duration of SSC showed a strong dose–response relationship with early breastfeeding initiation. SSC of at least 90 min was associated with 368.81 (95% CI 88.76 to 1532.38, p<0.001) times higher early breastfeeding. EBF was significantly associated with SSC duration of 30–59 min (OR 3.54, 95% CI 1.88 to 6.66, p<0.001), 60–89 min (OR 5.61, 95% CI 2.51 to 12.58, p<0.001) and at least 90 min (OR 3.78, 95% CI 2.12 to 6.74, p<0.001) regardless of delivery mode. Non-supine position (OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.90 to 4.11, p<0.001), rooming-in (OR 5.85, 95% CI 3.46 to 9.88, p<0.001), hospital breastfeeding policies (OR 2.82, 95% CI 1.97 to 4.02, p<0.001), quality improvement mechanisms (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.49, p=0.02) and no formula products (OR 17.50, 95% CI 5.92 to 51.74, p<0.001) were associated with EBF.

Conclusion

EENC policy, practice and environmental interventions were associated with breastfeeding outcomes. To maximise the likelihood of early and EBF, newborns, regardless of delivery mode, should receive immediate and uninterrupted SSC for at least 90 min.

The impact of general anesthesia on mother-infant bonding for puerperants who undergo emergency cesarean deliveries

Background Mother-infant bonding is an emerging perinatal issue. While emergency cesarean deliveries are associated with a risk of bonding disorders, the mode of anesthesia used for emergency cesarean deliveries has never been studied in this context. We aimed to investigate the impact of administering general anesthesia and neuraxial anesthesia to women undergoing cesarean deliveries on mother-infant bonding. Methods This was a retrospective, propensity score-matched multivariable analysis of 457 patients who underwent emergency cesarean deliveries between February 2016 and January 2019 at a single teaching hospital in Japan. The Mother-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) scores at hospital discharge and the 1-month postpartum outpatient visit were evaluated in the general anesthesia and the neuraxial anesthesia groups. A high score on the MIBS indicates impaired mother-infant bonding. Results The primary outcome was the MIBS score at hospital discharge in propensity score-matched women. After propensity score matching, the median [interquartile range (IQR)] MIBS scores were significantly higher in the general anesthesia group than those in the neuraxial anesthesia group at hospital discharge [2 (1-4) vs. 2 (0-2); P = 0.015] and at the 1-month postpartum outpatient visit [1 (1-3) vs. 1 (0-2); P = 0.046]. In linear regression analysis of matched populations, general anesthesia showed a significant and positive association with the MIBS scores at hospital discharge [beta coefficient 0.867 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.147-1.59); P = 0.019] but not at the 1-month postpartum outpatient visit [0.455 (-0.134 to 1.044); P = 0.129]. Conclusion General anesthesia for emergency cesarean delivery is an independent risk factor associated with impaired mother-infant bonding.