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Labour assessment programs to delay admission to labour wards.
130 Blue Forest Lane, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B4B 1L1. llauzon@ns.sympatico.ca
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|November 1, 2001
Summary
Labour assessment programs can reduce hospital stays and interventions like oxytocics and analgesia for women in labour. These programs may improve women's sense of control during childbirth.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Maternal Health
- Evidence-Based Maternity Care
Background:
- Labour assessment programs aim to delay hospital admission until active labour is established.
- This strategy seeks to prevent unnecessary interventions for women not yet in established labour.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effects of labour assessment programs designed to postpone hospital admission until active labour.
- Assessing the impact on interventions and maternal experience.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomised controlled trials comparing labour assessment programs with direct admission to labour wards.
- Searched Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group and Cochrane Controlled Trials Register up to January 2001.
- Assessed trial quality.
Main Results:
- One high-quality study of 209 women was included.
- Women in labour assessment units spent significantly less time in the labour ward (WMD -5.20 hours).
- Reduced likelihood of receiving intrapartum oxytocics (OR 0.45) and analgesia (OR 0.36), with higher reported control during labour (WMD 16.00).
Conclusions:
- Labour assessment programs may offer benefits for women with term pregnancies.
- Evidence is insufficient to assess effects on caesarean section rates or other key maternal and neonatal outcomes.