Publications

Abstract

Background: Short-term maternal complications of cesarean delivery remain uncertain because of confounding by indication. Our objective was to assess whether cesarean delivery is associated with severe acute intra- or postpartum maternal morbidity compared with vaginal delivery, overall and according to the timing of the cesarean.

Methods: We performed a case-control analysis using data from EPIMOMS, a prospective population-based study of deliveries at 22 gestation weeks or later from 6 regions of France in 2012-2013. Cases of intra- or postpartum severe acute maternal morbidity that were not a result of a condition present before delivery were compared with controls randomly selected in a 1/50 ratio. Associations between delivery modes and severe acute maternal morbidity were estimated in a propensity score-matched sample.

Results: Among 182 300 deliveries, we identified 1444 cases and 3464 controls. The proportion of cesarean delivery was significantly higher among cases than controls (36.0% v. 18.2%). In the propensity score-matched analysis, cesarean deliveries were significantly associated with a higher risk of severe acute maternal morbidity (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-2.2). This association increased with maternal age and was particularly marked for women aged 35 years or older (adjusted OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.9-4.4). This increased risk was significant for cesarean deliveries during labour in women of all age groups and for those before labour only in women aged 35 years or older (adjusted OR 5.1, 95% CI 2.3-11.0).

Interpretation: Cesarean delivery is associated with a higher risk of severe acute maternal morbidity than vaginal delivery, particularly in women aged 35 years and older. Clinical decisions regarding delivery mode should account for this excess risk accordingly.

Editorial

Despite significant improvements in the survival of very preterm newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) over the last decade, significant racial and ethnic disparities exist for very preterm infants.^1–3 While these disparities are rooted in a complex web of factors, a growing body of evidence has documented the role of quality of care in creating disparities. Black and Hispanic very preterm infants are more likely to be born in hospitals with worse outcomes than white infants after adjustment for risk factors, and differences in hospital of birth explain a significant proportion of the black-white and Hispanic-white disparities for these vulnerable infants.² Additional research has documented that racial and ethnic disparities in quality exist between and within NICUs for very low-birth-weight infants. […]

Abstract

Objective: To analyze language skills in children born at 24-34 weeks of gestation at 2 years of corrected age and the association between language and other developmental domains.

Study design: We included 2424 children (64% of the eligible population) from the French population-based EPIPAGE 2 cohort study. At 2 years’ corrected age, children were screened with the French short version of the MacArthur-Bates Communication Developmental Inventories and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire completed by parents.

Results: Small lexicon size, <10th percentile of the calibration sample (ie, 28 words in a list of 100) was observed in 135 of 300 children (45%) born at 23-26 weeks, 484 of 1513 (32%) born at 27-31 weeks, and 165 of 611 (27%) born at 32-34 weeks of gestation. Small lexicon size was associated with 2 other language measures: word combination use and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire communication domain score. It was also significantly associated with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire score below the threshold in the other developmental domains (gross motor function, fine motor function, problem solving skills, and personal social skills) for all gestational age groups, after adjustment for potential confounders. Overall, 46% of children with a small lexicon size had ≥1 of these domains below the threshold, as compared with only 22% of children without a small lexicon size.

Conclusions: These results highlight the usefulness of the MacArthur-Bates Communication Developmental Inventories in preterm children, especially those who do not participate in specialized follow-up. A small lexicon size points to developmental difficulties in language and increased risk for other developmental and neurobehavioral functions.

J Gynecol Obstet Hum Reprod. 2020 Feb;49(2):101662. doi: 10.1016/j.jogoh.2019.101662.Epub 2019 Dec 4.

Abstract

Background: Neonatal morbidity among fetuses in breech presentation is not associated with planned mode of delivery in France. Data about consequences to these mothers are sparse.

Methods: The prospective PREMODA study took place in France and Belgium (2001-2002) in 138 maternity units and included all women with a singleton fetus in breech presentation ≥ 37 weeks of gestation (n=8105). We excluded women with more than one previous cesarean delivery, an in utero fetal death, or for whom cesarean delivery or induction of labor was planned due to maternal disease. The composite variable « severe acute maternal morbidity » (SAMM) grouped severe events. Associations between planned modes of delivery and SAMM were estimated from multivariable Poisson regression models adjusted for potential confounders. A control group with fetuses in cephalic presentation enabled us to compare maternal complications by fetal presentation.

Results: Among the 7564 women included in the analysis, 5098 (67.4%) had a planned cesarean and 2466 (32.6%) a planned vaginal delivery; their SAMM rates did not differ: 48/8098 (0.9%) versus 17/2466 (0.7%), respectively, with an adjusted risk ratio (aRR) of 1.60, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.81-3.15. The SAMM rate was significantly higher in the planned vaginal breech group than in the planned vaginal cephalic group: 17/2466 (0.7%) versus 39/10156 (0.4%) (aRR 2.10, 95% CI 1.18-3.74).

Conclusion: In women with a fetus in breech presentation at term, the short-term risk of severe maternal morbidity did not differ significantly according to planned mode of delivery.

Abstract

Background: Facilitating factors and barriers to breast milk feeding (BMF) very preterm (VP) infants have been widely studied at the individual level. We aimed to describe and analyse factors associated with BMF at discharge for VP infants, with a special focus on unit policies aiming to support BMF.

Methods: We described BMF at discharge in 3108 VP infants enrolled in EPIPAGE-2, a French national cohort. Variables of interest were kangaroo care during the 1st week of life (KC); unit’s policies supporting BMF initiation (BMF information systematically given to mothers hospitalised for threatened preterm delivery and breast milk expression proposed within 6 hours after birth) and BMF maintenance (availability of protocols for BMF and a special room for mothers to pump milk); the presence in units of a professional trained in human lactation and regional BMF initiation rates in the general population. Associations were investigated by multilevel logistic regression analysis, with adjustment on individual factors.

Results: In total, 47.2% of VP infants received BMF at discharge (range among units 21.1%-84.0%). Unit policies partly explained this variation, regardless of individual factors. BMF at discharge was associated with KC (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.26 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.40, 3.65)), with policies supporting BMF initiation (aOR 2.19 (95% CI 1.27, 3.77)) and maintenance (aOR 2.03 (95% CI 1.17, 3.55)), but not with BMF initiation rates in the general population.

Conclusion: Adopting policies of higher performing units could be an effective strategy for increasing BMF rates at discharge among VP infants.

Abstract

Objective: To assess whether planned route of delivery is associated with perinatal and 2-year outcomes for preterm breech singletons.
Design: Prospective nationwide population-based EPIPAGE-2 cohort study.
Setting: France, 2011.
Sample: Three hundred and ninety women with breech singletons born at 26-34 weeks of gestation after preterm labour or preterm prelabour rupture of membranes.
Methods: Propensity-score analysis.
Main outcome measures: Survival at discharge, survival at discharge without severe morbidity, and survival at 2 years of corrected age without neurosensory impairment.
Results: Vaginal and caesarean deliveries were planned in 143 and 247 women, respectively. Neonates with planned vaginal delivery and planned caesarean delivery did not differ in survival (93.0 versus 95.7%, P = 0.14), survival at discharge without severe morbidity (90.4 versus 89.9%, P = 0.85), or survival at 2 years without neurosensory impairment (86.6 versus 91.6%, P = 0.11). After applying propensity scores and assigning inverse probability of treatment weighting, as compared with planned vaginal delivery, planned caesarean delivery was not associated with improved survival (odds ratio, OR 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI 0.67-2.59), survival without severe morbidity (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.45-1.27), or survival at 2 years without neurosensory impairment (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.60-1.80). Results were similar after matching on propensity score.
Conclusions: No association between planned caesarean delivery and improved outcomes for preterm breech singletons born at 26-34 weeks of gestation after preterm labour or preterm prelabour rupture of membranes was found. The route of delivery should be discussed with women, balancing neonatal outcomes with the higher risks of maternal morbidity associated with caesarean section performed at low gestational age.

Presse Med.2019 Jan;48(1 Pt 1):34-45. doi: 10.1016/j.lpm.2018.11.022. Epub2019 Jan 18

Indications for aspirin during pregnancy are a matter of debate and there is a recent trend to an extended prescription and an overuse of aspirin in pregnancy. Aspirin is efficient in secondary prevention of preeclampsia essentially in patients with a personal history of preeclampsia. The effect of aspirin on platelet aggregation and on the TXA2/PGI2 balance is dose-dependent. The optimum dosage, from 75mg/day to 150mg/day, needs to be determined. Fetal safety data at 150mg/day are still limited. The efficacy of aspirin seems to be subject to a chronobiological effect. It is recommended to prescribe an evening or bedtime intake. Aspirin, in primary prevention of preeclampsia, given to high-risk patients identified in the first trimester by screening tests, seems to reduce the occurrence of early-on set preeclampsia. Nevertheless, there are insufficient data for the implementation of such screening procedures in practice.

Abstract

Objective: Caesarean section (CS) may reduce mortality and morbidity for very preterm breech infants, but evidence is inconclusive. We evaluated neonatal outcomes for singleton breech infants by mode of delivery in a European cohort.

Study design: Data come from the EPICE population-based cohort of very preterm births in 19 regions in 11 European countries (7770 live births). The study population was singleton spontaneous-onset breech births at 24-31 weeks gestational age (GA) without antenatal medical complications requiring caesarean delivery (N = 572). Mixed-effects regression models adjusting for maternal and pregnancy covariates and propensity score matching was used to examine the effect of (1) CS and (2) a unit policy of systematic CS for breech presentation by GA. The primary outcome was a composite of in-hospital mortality, intraventricular haemorrhage grades III & IV or cystic periventricular leukomalacia. Secondary outcomes were each component separately, five minute Apgar score below seven and mortality within six hours of delivery.

Results: 64.4% of infants were delivered by CS with a range across regions from 41% to 100%; these infants had higher GA and were more likely to be small for gestational age, receive antenatal steroids, and have mothers who were hospitalised for more than one day before delivery compared to those delivered vaginally. CS was associated with lower risks of all outcomes in mixed-effects adjusted models (odds ratio (OR) for the composite outcome: 0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.30-0.81), but not in propensity score matched models (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.41; 1.29). A systematic CS policy was associated with lower mortality and morbidity in unadjusted, but not adjusted models (OR for composite outcome: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.44; 1.28). 35% of births 24-25 weeks were delivered by CS and protective effects were consistently stronger, but not statistically significant.

Conclusions: Point estimates indicated protective effects of caesarean delivery for very preterm breech infants in conventional statistical models. However, analyses using propensity scores and based on unit policies did not confirm statistically significant associations. Prospective large-scale studies are needed to establish best practice and could be implemented in European regions where vaginal delivery remains an option.

BMC Med. 2018 Dec 5;16(1):227. doi: 10.1186/s12916-018-1206-4.

BACKGROUND:

Emerging evidence suggests intensity of perinatal care influences survival for extremely preterm babies. We evaluated the effect of differences in perinatal care intensity between centres on sensorimotor morbidity at 2 years of age. We hypothesised that hospitals with a higher intensity of perinatal care would have improved survival without increased disability.

METHODS:

Foetuses alive at maternal admission to a level 3 hospital in France in 2011, subsequently delivered between 22 and 26 weeks gestational age (GA) and included in the EPIPAGE-2 national prospective observational cohort study formed the baseline population. Level of intensity of perinatal care was assigned according to hospital of birth, categorised into three groups using ‘perinatal intensity’ ratios (ratio of 24-25 weeks GA babies admitted to neonatal intensive care to foetuses of the same GA alive at maternal admission to hospital). Multiple imputation was used to account for missing data; hierarchical logistic regression accounting for births nested within centres was then performed.

RESULTS:

One thousand one hundred twelve foetuses were included; 473 survived to 2 years of age (126 of 358 in low-intensity, 140 of 380 in medium-intensity and 207 of 374 in high-intensity hospitals). There were no differences in disability (adjusted odds ratios 0.93 (95% CI 0.28 to 3.04) and 1.04 (95% CI 0.34 to 3.14) in medium- and high- compared to low-intensity hospitals, respectively). Compared to low-intensity hospitals, survival without sensorimotor disability was increased in the population of foetuses alive at maternal admission to hospital and in live-born babies, but there were no differences when considering only babies admitted to NICU or survivors.

CONCLUSIONS:

No difference in sensorimotor outcome for survivors of extremely preterm birth at 2 years of age was found according to the intensity of perinatal care provision. Active management of periviable births was associated with increased survival without sensorimotor disability.

Abstract

Aim: Children born very preterm require additional specialist care because of the health and developmental risks associated with preterm birth, but information on their health service use is sparse. We sought to describe the use of specialist services by children born very preterm in Europe.

Method: We analysed data from the multi-regional, population-based Effective Perinatal Intensive Care in Europe (EPICE) cohort of births before 32 weeks’ gestation in 11 European countries. Perinatal data were abstracted from medical records and parents completed a questionnaire at 2 years corrected age (4322 children; 2026 females, 2296 males; median gestational age 29wks, interquartile range [IQR] 27-31wks; median birthweight 1230g, IQR 970-1511g). We compared parent-reported use of specialist services by country, perinatal risk (based on gestational age, small for gestational age, and neonatal morbidities), maternal education, and birthplace.

Results: Seventy-six per cent of the children had consulted at least one specialist, ranging across countries from 53.7% to 100%. Ophthalmologists (53.4%) and physiotherapists (48.0%) were most frequently consulted, but individual specialists varied greatly by country. Perinatal risk was associated with specialist use, but the gradient differed across countries. Children with more educated mothers had higher proportions of specialist use in three countries.

Interpretation: Large variations in the use of specialist services across Europe were not explained by perinatal risk and raise questions about the strengths and limits of existing models of care.

What this paper adds: Use of specialist services by children born very preterm varied across Europe. This variation was observed for types and number of specialists consulted. Perinatal risk was associated with specialist care, but did not explain country-level differences. In some countries, mothers’ educational level affected use of specialist services.