Prospective cohort study of water immersion for labour and birth compared with standard care in an Irish maternity setting.

Objective: To examine the birth outcomes for women and babies following water immersion for labour only, or for labour and birth.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Maternity hospital, Ireland, 2016-2019.

Maternal near miss: what lies beneath?

Objective: Capturing 'near miss' and severe maternal morbidity using standard definitions is challenging. Information about levels of care required by ill pregnant or recently pregnant women may be more informative. The aim of this study was to prospectively audit incidence, causes, categorisation of maternal morbidity and level of care required by patients admitted to a labour ward high dependency unit (HDU) in a stand-alone obstetric hospital.