Impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures on perinatal outcomes in the Netherlands.

Objective: Investigate the acute impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures implemented in March 2020 on a comprehensive range of perinatal outcomes.

Study Design: National registry-based quasi-experimental study.

Methods: We obtained data from the Dutch Perinatal Registry (2010-2020) which was linked to multiple population registries containing sociodemographic variables.

Variations over time in mode of birth and perinatal outcomes in women with one previous cesarean in the Netherlands: A 20-year population-based study.

Background: Globally, cesarean birth rates are rising, and while it can be a lifesaving procedure, cesarean birth is also associated with increased maternal and perinatal risks. This study aims to describe changes over time about the mode of birth and perinatal outcomes in second-pregnancy women with one previous cesarean birth in the Netherlands over the past 20 years.

Methods: We conducted a nationwide, population-based study using the Dutch perinatal registry.

Spontaneous haemoperitoneum in pregnancy: Nationwide surveillance and Delphi audit system.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence, diagnostic management strategies and clinical outcomes of women with spontaneous haemoperitoneum in pregnancy (SHiP) and reassess the definition of SHiP.

Design: A population-based cohort study using the Netherlands Obstetric Surveillance System (NethOSS).

Setting: Nationwide, the Netherlands.

Lessons learned in cases of late preterm mortality in the Netherlands: Results from nationwide perinatal audits, a mixed method study.

Objective: Assess improvable care factors in late preterm mortality, defined as death of a child during labour or in the first 28 days thereafter between 32 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks gestation, in the Netherlands.

Design: Perinatal audit has been coordinated and supported at the national level, with selection of nationwide audit themes, and audit sessions are performed at the local level across the country as multidisciplinary meetings with primary and secondary level health care professionals, organised in local perinatal cooperation units. In 2017-2019, late preterm mortality was such a theme.

Trends in perinatal outcomes of women with chronic medical conditions: A 10-year population-based study in the Netherlands.

Objective: To gain insight into perinatal outcomes in women with chronic medical conditions, in order to contribute to the optimization of personalized perinatal care. We hypothesize that women with a chronic medical condition have poorer perinatal outcomes than women without a known chronic medical condition.

Design: Population-based study using data of the Netherlands Perinatal Registry between 2010-2019.

Patients' experiences with an obstetric telephone triage system: A qualitative study.

Background: Telephone Triage Systems aim to provide a uniform and practical system for healthcare professionals in order to prioritize urgency of care. A disadvantage of telephone triage system could be that the conversations are experienced as less personal, as it uses a uniform procedure for every patient. Therefore, aside from the clinical relevance, patient expectations, experiences and satisfaction were studied.

Measure to improve: Is there a patient-acuity measurement tool suitable for use in maternity service provision in the Netherlands? A systematic review.

Background And Aims: It is difficult to overestimate the importance of safe staffing levels within the context of effective, quality healthcare. Poor staffing has been cited as a contributory factor in the number of unnecessary hospital deaths. This is particularly so in maternity care, where poor staffing has been inexorably linked to avoidable perinatal and maternal mortality.

Lessons learned from the perinatal audit of uterine rupture in the Netherlands: A mixed-method study.

Background And Aims: To analyze outcomes of nationwide local audits of uterine rupture to draw lessons for clinical care.

Methods: Descriptive cohort study. Critical incident audit sessions within all local perinatal cooperation groups in the Netherlands.

Evaluation of Normalization After Implementation of the Digital Dutch Obstetric Telephone Triage System: Mixed Methods Study With a Questionnaire Survey and Focus Group Discussion.

Background: The Dutch Obstetric Telephone Triage System (DOTTS) was developed to improve the quality of acute obstetric care. To achieve optimal effect, the DOTTS should be adopted in the daily care process by triage staff.

Objective: The primary aim was to evaluate the degree of implementation (ie, normalization) of the DOTTS, and the secondary aim was to evaluate which lessons can be learned from its current implementation in Dutch hospitals.

Severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia: lessons learnt from a national perinatal audit.

Objectives: To describe characteristics of neonates with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia (SNH) and to gain more insight in improvable factors that may have contributed to the development of SNH.

Design And Setting: Descriptive study, based on national Dutch perinatal audit data on SNH from 2017 to 2019.

Patients: Neonates, born ≥35 weeks of gestation and without antenatally known severe blood group incompatibility, who developed hyperbilirubinaemia above the exchange transfusion threshold.

Reliability of Dutch Obstetric Telephone Triage.

Background: Safety and efficiency of emergency care can be optimized with a triage system which uses urgency to prioritize care. The Dutch Obstetric Telephone Triage System (DOTTS) was developed to provide a basis for assessing urgency of unplanned obstetric care requests by telephone. Reliability and validity are important components in evaluating such (obstetric) triage systems.

Validation of Dutch Obstetric Telephone Triage System: A Prospective Validation Study.

Objective And Purpose: A triage system that prioritizes care according to medical urgency has a favorable effect on safety and efficiency of emergency care. The Dutch obstetric telephone triage system is comparable to physical triage systems. It consists of five urgency levels: resuscitation and life threatening (U1), emergency (U2), urgent (U3), non-urgent (U4) and self-care advice (U5).

Identifying the Needs for a Web-Based Postpartum Platform Among Parents of Newborns and Health Care Professionals: Qualitative Focus Group Study.

Background: During the turbulent postpartum period, there is an urgent need by parents for support and information regarding the care for their infant. In the Netherlands, professional support is provided during the first 8 days postpartum and for a maximum of 8 hours a day. This care is delivered by maternity care assistants (MCAs).

Change in Lifestyle Behaviors After Preconception Care: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of preconception care (PCC) consultations by change in lifestyle behaviors.

Setting And Intervention: Women in deprived neighborhoods of 14 Dutch municipalities were encouraged to visit a general practitioner or midwife for PCC.

Sample: The study included women aged 18 to 41 years who had a PCC consultation.

Integrating interconception care in preventive child health care services: The Healthy Pregnancy 4 All program.

Background: Most parents with young children pay routine visits to Well-Baby Clinics, or so-called Preventive Child Health Care (PCHC) services. This offers a unique opportunity to promote and deliver interconception care. This study aimed to integrate such care and perform an implementation evaluation.

Systematic Development of Materials for Inviting Low Health-Literate Individuals to Participate in Preconception Counseling.

In this study we aimed to systematically analyze problems in the recruitment of women with low health literacy for preconception counseling and to adapt and evaluate written invitations for this group. In a problem analysis (stage 1) we used structured interviews (n = 72) to assess comprehension of the initial invitations, perception of perinatal risks, attitude and intention to participate in preconception counseling. These outcomes were used to adapt the invitation.

[Decrease in foetal and neonatal mortality in the Netherlands; comparison with other Euro-Peristat countries in 2004, 2010 and 2015].

Objective: To compare changes in foetal, neonatal and perinatal mortality in the Netherlands in 2015, relative to 2004 and 2010, with changes in other European countries and regions.

Design: Descriptive population-wide study.

Method: Data from 32 European countries and regions within the Euro-Peristat registration area were analysed.

Handover of care and of information by community midwives, maternity care assistants and Preventive Child Healthcare professionals, a qualitative study.

Introduction: Handover of care has been internationally acknowledged as an important aspect in patient safety. Families who are vulnerable due to low socio-economic status, a language barrier or poor health skills, benefit especially from a decent handover of care from one healthcare professional to another. The handover from primary midwifery care and maternity care to Preventive Child Healthcare (PCHC) is not always successful, especially not in case of vulnerable families.

The effect of a preconception care outreach strategy: the Healthy Pregnancy 4 All study.

Background: Preconception care has been acknowledged as an intervention to reduce perinatal mortality and morbidity. However, utilization of preconception care is low because of low awareness of availability and benefits of the service. An outreach strategy was employed to promote uptake of preconception care consultations.

Results of a Dutch national and subsequent international expert meeting on interconception care.

The potential value of preconception care and interconception care is increasingly acknowledged, but delivery is generally uncommon. Reaching women for interconception care is potentially easier than for preconception care, however the concept is still unfamiliar. Expert consensus could facilitate guidelines, policies and subsequent implementation.

Preconception counselling for low health literate women: an exploration of determinants in the Netherlands.

Background: Women from lower socioeconomic groups tend to be at greater risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, but are less likely to participate in preconception counselling compared to higher socioeconomic groups. This could be partly because of their limited skills to assess, understand and use health related information in ways that promote and maintain good health (health literacy skills). In this study we explored determinants of participation in preconception counselling among women with low health literacy in The Netherlands.

The Usability and Effectiveness of Mobile Health Technology-Based Lifestyle and Medical Intervention Apps Supporting Health Care During Pregnancy: Systematic Review.

Background: A growing number of mobile health (mHealth) technology-based apps are being developed for personal lifestyle and medical health care support, of which several apps are related to pregnancy. Evidence on usability and effectiveness is limited but crucial for successful implementation.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the usability, that is, feasibility and acceptability, as well as effectiveness of mHealth lifestyle and medical apps to support health care during pregnancy in high-income countries.

Perceptions of pregnancy preparation in women with a low to intermediate educational attainment: A qualitative study.

Objective: in the promotion of periconceptional health, appropriate attention has to be given to the perceptions of those who are most vulnerable, such as women with a relatively low socioeconomic status based on their educational attainment. The aim of this study was to explore these women's perceptions of pregnancy preparation and the role they attribute to healthcare professionals.

Design: we conducted semi-structured interviews with women with a low to intermediate educational attainment and with a desire to conceive, of which a subgroup had experience with preconception care.

The influence of counseling on the mode of breech birth: A single-center observational prospective study in The Netherlands.

Objective: women in the Netherlands, with a fetus in breech presentation, are thoroughly counseled to make an informed choice for the mode of delivery. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of counseling techniques on women's choices for the mode of delivery and subsequently to compare fetal and maternal outcomes of vaginal breech birth versus planned caesarean section.

Study Design: we performed an observational prospective study.

Opportunities of mHealth in Preconception Care: Preferences and Experiences of Patients and Health Care Providers and Other Involved Professionals.

Background: The importance of the preconception period and preconception care (PCC) are broadly acknowledged and the potential benefits regarding health promotion have been studied extensively. PCC provides the opportunity to identify, prevent, and treat modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors to optimize the health of couples trying to become pregnant. The prevalence of modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors in these couples is high, but the uptake of PCC remains low.