The effects of the Norwegian Coordination Reform on the use of rehabilitation services: panel data analyses of service use, 2010 to 2013.

Background: In 2012 the Norwegian Coordination Reform was implemented. The main motivation was to encourage municipalities to expand local, primary health care services. From 2012 to 2014, under the Municipal Co-Financing regime, municipalities were obliged to cover 20 % of the costs of health services provided at the specialist (hospital) level.

Childbirth or termination of pregnancy: does paid employment matter? A population study of women in reproductive age in Norway.

Introduction: We studied whether female paid employment is associated with pregnancy outcome; childbirth or pregnancy termination.

Material And Methods: All women in Norway, 16-54 years of age, during the years 2007-10 were included. Data sources were; the Norwegian Central Person Registry, the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, and the Registry of Pregnancy Termination.

Saving Newborn Babies - The Benefits of Interventions in Neonatal Care in Norway over More Than 40 Years.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect that the introduction of new medical interventions at birth has had on mortality among newborn babies in Norway during the period 1967-2011. During this period, there has been a significant decline in mortality, in particular for low birth weight infants. We identified four interventions that together explained about 50% of the decline in early neonatal and infant mortality: ventilators, antenatal steroids, surfactant and insure.

The prevalence of pre-eclampsia in migrant relative to native Norwegian women: a population-based study.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of pre-eclampsia in migrant women with Norwegian women, and to study the prevalence of pre-eclampsia by length of residence in Norway.

Design: Observational study.

Setting: The Medical Birth Registry of Norway.

Regionalization and local hospital closure in Norwegian maternity care--the effect on neonatal and infant mortality.

Objective: To study whether neonatal and infant mortality, after adjustments for differences in case mix, were independent of the type of hospital in which the delivery was carried out.

Data: The Medical Birth Registry of Norway provided detailed medical information for all births in Norway.

Study Design: Hospitals were classified into two groups: local hospitals/maternity clinics versus central/regional hospitals.

Birthweight and placental weight; do changes in culture media used for IVF matter? Comparisons with spontaneous pregnancies in the corresponding time periods.

Study Question: Have changes in culture media used for IVF resulted in changes in offspring birthweight or placental weight that differed from the trends in offspring from spontaneous conceptions during the corresponding time periods?

Summary Answer: Changes in culture media used for IVF were associated with significant differences in offspring birthweight and in placental weight to birthweight ratio when compared with the trend in offspring from spontaneous conceptions during the time periods.

What Is Known Already: The effect of culture media used for IVF on offspring birthweight has varied between studies. There is a large variation in birthweight between newborns, and birthweight may vary across populations and over time.

Perinatal mortality in non-western migrants in Norway as compared to their countries of birth and to Norwegian women.

Background: A large number of women from countries with a high perinatal mortality rate (PMR) settle in countries with a low PMR. We compared the PMRs for migrants in Norway with the PMRs in their countries of birth. We also assessed the risk of perinatal death in offspring of migrant women as compared to offspring of Norwegian women.

Adoption of diagnostic technology and variation in caesarean section rates: a test of the practice style hypothesis in Norway.

Objective: To examine whether the introduction of advanced diagnostic technology in maternity care has led to less variation in type of delivery between hospitals in Norway.

Data Sources: The Medical Birth Registry of Norway provided detailed medical information for 1.7 million deliveries from 1967 to 2005.

The impact of hospital revenue on the increase in Caesarean sections in Norway. A panel data analysis of hospitals 1976-2005.

Background: There has been a marked increase in the number of Caesarean sections in many countries during the last decades. In several countries, Caesarean sections are carried out in more than 20 per cent of births. These high Caesarean section rates give cause for concern, both from an economic and a medical perspective.