Refusal of the hospitalization: a distressed dilemma in obstetric practice

Pregnant women are a special population in which hospitalizations are more recommended due to physiological changes mimicking pathologies and medico-legal concerns.

We aimed to assess the obstetric outcomes of expectant mothers who were admitted to the obstetrics emergency outpatient clinic and declined the hospitalization advised by doctors. Additionally, we examined the appropriateness of physicians' recommendations.

We have retrospectively evaluated the patients admitted to the 'Obstetric Emergency Outpatient Clinic' and refused hospitalization between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019.

Cases were classified into three groups based on the trimester, considering the substantial variation between complaints and complications in each trimester. The complaints of pregnant women were categorized as psychosocial causes, obstetric complications, maternal systemic complaints, and suspicion of labor. We evaluated the compatibility of the hospitalization decision with the pregnancy outcome of patients.

A total of 958 pregnant women were included in the study. Leading causes for admissions were obstetric complications, maternal systemic complaints, and suspicion of labor in first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. Psychosocial causes were mostly observed in the second trimester. Readmission to the hospital within a week was highest in the third trimester group. According to pregnancy outcomes, 12.5% (94/753) of our recommendations were appropriate in all trimesters.

Obstetricians seem overcautious in managing obstetric patients and willing to offer hospitalization more often than the actual requirements.