Impact of maternity care policy in Catalonia: a retrospective cross-sectional study of service delivery in public and private hospitals.

Background: As a result of the growing number of interventions that are now performed in the context of maternity care, health authorities have begun to examine the possible repercussions for service provision and for maternal and neonatal health. In Spain the Strategy Paper on Normal Childbirth was published in 2008, and since then the authorities in Catalonia have sought to implement its recommendations. This paper reviews the current provision of maternity care in Catalonia.

[Application of perineum heat therapy during partum to reduce injuries that require post-partum stitches].

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of heat, moist or dry to the perineum during delivery in order to reduce injuries requiring perineal suturing after birth, and to assess its safety in relation to the adaptation of the newborn to extrauterine life.

Method: An open multicentre clinical trial directed from the School of Nursing at the University of Barcelona was carried out between 2009 and 2010 in 5 Catalan Hospitals. The sample consisted of 198 pregnant women subjected to the natural protocol for normal delivery assistance.