Ajlana Mulic-Lutvica

Suboptimal care and maternal mortality among foreign-born women in Sweden: maternal death audit with application of the ‘migration three delays’ model

BackgroundSeveral European countries report differences in risk of maternal mortality between immigrants from low- and middle-income countries and host country women. The present study identified suboptimal factors related to care-seeking, accessibility, and quality of care for maternal deaths that occurred in Sweden from 1988–2010.MethodsA subset of maternal death records (n = 75) among foreign-born women from low- and middle-income countries and Swedish-born women were audited using structured implicit review. One case of foreign-born maternal death was matched with two native born Swedish cases of maternal death. An assessment protocol was developed that applied both the ‘migration three delays’ framework and a modified version of the Confidential Enquiry from the United Kingdom. The main outcomes were major and minor suboptimal factors associated with maternal death in this high-income, low-maternal mortality context.ResultsMajor and minor suboptimal factors were associated with a majority of maternal deaths and significantly more often to foreign-born women (p = 0.01). The main delays to care-seeking were non-compliance among foreign-born women and communication barriers, such as incongruent language and suboptimal interpreter system or usage. Inadequate care occurred more often among the foreign-born (p = 0.04), whereas delays in consultation/referral and miscommunication between health care providers where equally common between the two groups.ConclusionsSuboptimal care factors, major and minor, were present in more than 2/3 of maternal deaths in this high-income setting. Those related to migration were associated to miscommunication, lack of professional interpreters, and limited knowledge about rare diseases and pregnancy complications. Increased insight into a migration perspective is advocated for maternity clinicians who provide care to foreign-born women.

Placental perfusion in normal pregnancy and early and late preeclampsia: a magnetic resonance imaging study.

OBJECTIVE Our primary aim was to investigate if women with early or late preeclampsia have different placental perfusion compared with normal pregnancies. A secondary aim was to investigate if placental perfusion changes with increasing gestational age in normal pregnancy. METHODS The study population included thirteen women with preeclampsia (five with early and eight with late preeclampsia) and nineteen women with normal pregnancy (ten with early and nine with late pregnancy). Early was defined as <34 weeks and late as ≥ 34 weeks gestation. All women underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination including a diffusion weighted sequence at 1.5 T. The perfusion fraction was calculated. RESULTS Women with early preeclampsia had a smaller placental perfusion fraction (p = 0.001) and women with late preeclampsia had a larger placental perfusion fraction (p = 0.011), compared to women with normal pregnancies at the corresponding gestational age. The placental perfusion fraction decreased with increasing gestational age in normal pregnancies (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION Both early and late preeclampsia differ in placental perfusion from normal pregnant women. Observed differences are however in the opposite direction, suggesting differences in pathophysiology. Placental perfusion decreases with increasing gestational age in normal pregnancy.

Ultrasound finding of an echogenic mass in women with secondary postpartum hemorrhage is associated with retained placental tissue

To describe sonographic findings associated with retained placental tissue in patients with secondary postpartum hemorrhage, and to compare these findings with those of women with a normal puerperium.

Longitudinal study of Doppler flow resistance indices of the uterine arteries after normal vaginal delivery

Objectives. To measure Doppler flow resistance indices in the uterine arteries, and to observe when the early diastolic notches appear during the normal puerperium. Methods. Some 45 women took part in this prospective longitudinal study after normal, vaginal delivery. Ultrasound examinations were scheduled for days 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56 postpartum. A transabdominal probe was used during the first two postpartum weeks, and a transvaginal probe for the later examinations. The pulsatility (PI) and resistance (RI) indices in the uterine arteries were measured, and the presence or absence of early diastolic notches was recorded. Results. Compared to day one, the resistance indices did not change markedly until day 28 postpartum. The mean PI was 1.23 at day 1, 1.22 at day 3, 1.22 at day 7, 1.33 at day 14, 1.81 at day 28, and 2.25 at day 56. The mean RI was 0.65 at day 1, 0.65 at day 3, 0.66 at day 7, 0.65 at day 14, 0.77 at day 28, and 0.84 at day 56. The presence of at least 1 uterine artery notch was found in 13.3% of the women at day 1, and in 90.6% at day 56 postpartum. Bilateral notches were recorded in 6.7% of the women at day 1, and in 84.4% at day 56 postpartum. Conclusion. Reference values of the resistance indices from uncomplicated puerperium are needed when the diagnostic efficacy of Doppler ultrasound for pathological conditions is to be tested. This study confirms that the time needed for the vascular physiology to revert from a pregnant to a non‐pregnant state appears to be longer than previously assumed.

Risk of retained placenta in women previously delivered by caesarean section: a population-based cohort study.

To evaluate whether women with a caesarean section at their first delivery have an increased risk of retained placenta at their second delivery.

In vivo 31P-MR spectroscopy in normal pregnancy, early and late preeclampsia: A study of placental metabolism

INTRODUCTION Preeclampsia affects about 3% of pregnancies and the placenta is believed to play a major role in its pathophysiology. Lately, the role of the placenta has been hypothesised to be more pronounced in preeclampsia of early (<34 weeks) rather than late (≥ 34 weeks) onset. (31)P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) enables non-invasive, in vivo studies of placental metabolism. Our aim was to study placental energy and membrane metabolism in women with normal pregnancies and those with early and late onset preeclampsia. METHODS The study population included fourteen women with preeclampsia (five with early onset and nine with late onset preeclampsia) and sixteen women with normal pregnancy (seven with early and nine with late pregnancy). All women underwent a (31)P-MRS examination of the placenta. RESULTS The phosphodiester (PDE) spectral intensity fraction of the total (31)P signal and the phosphodiester/phosphomonoester (PDE/PME) spectral intensity ratio was higher in early onset preeclampsia than in early normal pregnancy (p = 0.03 and p = 0.02). In normal pregnancy the PDE spectral intensity fraction and the PDE/PME spectral intensity ratio increased with increasing gestational age (p = 0.006 and p = 0.001). DISCUSSION Since PDE and PME are related to cell membrane degradation and formation, respectively, our findings indicate increased cell degradation and maybe also decreased cell proliferation in early onset preeclampsia compared to early normal pregnancy, and with increasing gestational age in normal pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS Our findings could be explained by increased apoptosis due to ischaemia in early onset preeclampsia and also increased apoptosis with increasing gestational age in normal pregnancy.

Postpartum ultrasound in women with postpartum endometritis, after cesarean section and after manual evacuation of the placenta

Objectives. To measure anteroposterior (AP) diameters, and to describe qualitative findings of the uterus and the uterine cavity in women with postpartum endometritis, after caesarean section (CS) and after manual evacuation of the placenta, and to compare these women with those in a normal puerperium. Methods. A prospective, descriptive, observational study of 103 postpartum women was conducted. Fifty‐five women had clinical symptoms of postpartum endometritis, 28 had undergone CS, and 20 had manual placental evacuation. Ultrasound examinations were scheduled for days 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56 postpartum. Women with endometritis underwent their first examination on the day they presented with clinical symptoms. Results. The AP diameters of the uterus and uterine cavity in all three groups overlapped considerably with the reference values. On day 56 postpartum, the uterus had achieved the same dimensions as found in our reference population. Compared with the reference group, during early puerperium, an empty cavity was less common among women with the three study conditions, and gas was present more often after CS and after manual evacuation of the placenta. An anteverted position of the uterus was less common among women with endometritis on day 14 and 28 postpartum, and among women delivered by CS on days 7, 14 and 28 postpartum. The incision site in the lower uterine segment was visible after CS. Conclusion. The ultrasonic findings in women with postpartum endometritis, after CS and after manual evacuation of the placenta, do not differ substantially from those during an uncomplicated puerperium. A delayed uterine involution process might explain the slight morphological differences observed.

Uterine artery Doppler ultrasound in postpartum women with retained placental tissue

We measured prospectively uterine artery Doppler flow resistance indices and looked for hyper‐vascular areas in 20 patients who were to undergo surgical evacuation due to clinical and ultrasound‐based suspicion of retained placental tissue (RPT). We compared these findings with those of the normal puerperium. All 20 patients underwent surgical procedures. Placental tissue was histologically confirmed in 19 patients. Mean pulsatility and mean resistance values were below the 10th percentile for eight and seven women, respectively, but overlapping was extensive. A hyper‐vascular area was observed in 12 patients with histological confirmation. In eight cases, six of them with histological confirmation, no hyper‐vascular area was observed. Although RPT is associated with lower resistance indices in the uterine arteries, this knowledge has limited value as a diagnostic tool for RPT. Absence of a hyper‐vascular area in the myometrium does not exclude RPT, but its presence is common finding associated with RPT and should not be misinterpreted as an arterio‐vascular malformation.

Longitudinal study of the uterine body and cavity with three-dimensional ultrasonography in the puerperium.

Objective. To describe uterine involution in the puerperium with three‐dimensional ultrasound. Design. Prospective, longitudinal study. Setting. Fetal medicine unit, department of obstetrics and gynecology, university referral hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. Population. Fifty women with uncomplicated deliveries and puerperium between February 2009 and February 2010. Methods. Three‐dimensional ultrasound was used to measure the uterine body and cavity volumes. The volume data set was analysed using virtual organ computer‐aided analysis (VOCAL) with a 30 degree rotation step. Measurements were performed transabdominally on days 1, 7 and 14 and transvaginally on days 28 and 56 postpartum. Parity, gestational age, birthweight, smoking, breastfeeding and blood loss were recorded. Main outcome measures. Uterine body and cavity volumes. Results. Median uterine body volume was 756 cm3 on day 1, 440 cm3 on day 7, 253 cm3 on day 14, 125 cm3 on day 28 and 68 cm3 on day 56. Median cavity volume was 22 cm3 on day 1, 18 cm3 on day 7, 6 cm3 on day 14, 1 cm3 on day 28 and not measurable on day 56. The interindividual variation of uterine body and cavity volumes was most pronounced on day 1 and decreased throughout the observation period. Intrauterine content was found in 36% of the women on day 1, 95% on day 7, 87% on day 14 and 28% on day 28. Conclusions. Three‐dimensional ultrasound is a non‐invasive tool suitable for measurement of the uterine body and cavity volumes during the puerperium. The volumes decreased in a similar pattern in the study population.

Magnetic resonance imaging-estimated placental perfusion in fetal growth assessment

To evaluate in‐vivo placental perfusion fraction, estimated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as a marker of placental function.