Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2022 Oct;41(5):101137.
doi: 10.1016/j.accpm.2022.101137. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Obstetric services in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national survey

James Edward O'Carroll  1 , Liana Zucco  2 , Eleanor Warwick  3 , Gill Arbane  2 , Ramani Moonesinghe  4 , Kariem El-Boghdadly  2 , N Guo  5 , Brendan Carvalho  5 , Pervez Sultan  5 ; ObsQoR Collaborators
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Obstetric services in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national survey

James Edward O'Carroll et al. Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Background: The management of obstetric patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to human-to-human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) requires unique considerations. Many aspects of labour and delivery practice required adaptation in response to the global pandemic and were supported by guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists. The adoption and adherence to these guidelines is unknown.

Methods: Participating centres in "Quality of Recovery in Obstetric Anaesthesia study-a multicentre study" (ObsQoR) completed an electronic survey based on the provision of services and care related to COVID-19 in October 2021. The survey was designed against the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists COVID-19 guidelines.

Results: One hundred and five of the 107 participating centres completed the survey (98% response rate representing 54% of all UK obstetric units). The median [IQR] annual number of deliveries among the included sites was 4389 [3000-5325]. Ninety-nine of the 103 (94.3%) sites had guidelines for the management of peripartum women with COVID-19. Sixty-one of 105 (58.1%) sites had specific guidance for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis. Thirty-seven of 104 (35.6%) centres restricted parturient birthing plans if a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 was made. A COVID-19 vaccination referral pathway encouraging full vaccination for all pregnant women was present in 63/103 centres (61.2%).

Conclusion: We found variability in care delivered and adherence to guidelines related to COVID-19. The clinical implications for this related to quality of peripartum care is unclear, however there remains scope to improve pathways for immunisation, birth plans and VTE prophylaxis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Obstetric guidelines; Personal protective equipment; Quality of recovery; Survey; Vaccination.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bauer M., Bernstein K., Dinges E., Delgado C., El-Sharawi N., Sultan P., et al. Obstetric anesthesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anesth Analg. 2020;131:7–15. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Villar J., Ariff S., Gunier R.B., Thiruvengadam R., Rauch S., Kholin A., et al. Maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality among pregnant women with and without COVID-19 infection. JAMA Pediatr [Internet] 2021;175:817–826. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2779182 Available from: - PMC - PubMed
    1. Allotey J., Stallings E., Bonet M., Yap M., Chatterjee S., Kew T., et al. Clinical manifestations, risk factors, and maternal and perinatal outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy: living systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ [Internet] 2020;370 https://www.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmj.m3320 Available from: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vousden N., Ramakrishnan R., Bunch K., Morris E., Simpson N., Gale C., et al. Management and implications of severe COVID‐19 in pregnancy in the UK: data from the Obstetric Surveillance System national cohort. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand [Internet] United States. 2022;101:461–470. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aogs.14329 Available from: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rimmer M., Al Wattar B., Barlow C, Black N., Carpenter C., Conti‐Ramsden F., et al. Provision of obstetrics and gynaecology services during the COVID‐19 pandemic: a survey of junior doctors in the UK National Health Service. BJOG An Int J Obstet Gynaecol [Internet] 2020;127:1123–1128. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.16313 Available from: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances