Changes to booking, transfer criteria and procedures in birth centres in Australia from 1997-2007: A national survey

Laws, PJ; Lim, C; Tracy, SK; Dahlen, H; Sullivan, EA

Changes to booking, transfer criteria and procedures in birth centres in Australia from 1997-2007: A national survey

Laws, PJ Lim, C Tracy, SK Dahlen, H Sullivan, EA

Permalink

Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2011, 20 (19-20), pp. 2812 - 2821
Issue Date:: 2011-09-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	2013003086OK.pdf		105.44 kB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Laws, PJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lim, C	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Tracy, SK	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dahlen, H	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sullivan, EA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8718-2753	en_US
dc.date.issued	2011-09-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2011, 20 (19-20), pp. 2812 - 2821	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0962-1067	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/28494
dc.description.abstract	Background. Approximately 2% of women who give birth in Australia each year do so in a birth centre. A national study on birth centre procedures was conducted in 1997. There have been changes in the management of women in birth centres during the past 10years and this may be due in part to changes in booking and transfer criteria. Aims. This study aimed to describe booking and transfer criteria and procedures available in birth centres in Australia in 2007 and to compare results with those of a previous national birth centre study undertaken in 1997. Design. Survey. Methods. Questionnaires were sent to 23 birth centres. Questions included: types of procedures, equipment and pain relief available and exclusion criteria for booking and transfer. Of the birth centres, 19 satisfied the inclusion criteria and 16 completed surveys. Results. Changes were noted in booking and transfer criteria and procedures for birth centres between 1997-2007. These included a decline in birth centres accepting postterm pregnancies, vaginal births after caesarean section and women who are obese. There were also reductions in the use of artificial rupture of membranes for augmentation of labour, forceps and opioids. Use of natural therapies was widespread in 2007. Increases in birth centres managing induction of labour and electronic fetal monitoring were also noted. Conclusions. The changes observed in birth centre practice reflect overall changes in maternity care in Australia from 1997-2007. Relevance to clinical practice. Findings of the study suggest that factors such as increasing obesity and limited admission for vaginal births after caesarean section may lead to proportionately more women being unable to access birth centres as their preferred place of birth. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Clinical Nursing	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03765.x	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Nursing	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Patient Transfer	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Data Collection	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Pregnancy	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Birthing Centers	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.title	Changes to booking, transfer criteria and procedures in birth centres in Australia from 1997-2007: A national survey	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	19-20	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	20	en_US
utslib.for	1110 Nursing	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
utslib.for	1701 Psychology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Public Health
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	19-20	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	20	en_US

Abstract:

Background. Approximately 2% of women who give birth in Australia each year do so in a birth centre. A national study on birth centre procedures was conducted in 1997. There have been changes in the management of women in birth centres during the past 10years and this may be due in part to changes in booking and transfer criteria. Aims. This study aimed to describe booking and transfer criteria and procedures available in birth centres in Australia in 2007 and to compare results with those of a previous national birth centre study undertaken in 1997. Design. Survey. Methods. Questionnaires were sent to 23 birth centres. Questions included: types of procedures, equipment and pain relief available and exclusion criteria for booking and transfer. Of the birth centres, 19 satisfied the inclusion criteria and 16 completed surveys. Results. Changes were noted in booking and transfer criteria and procedures for birth centres between 1997-2007. These included a decline in birth centres accepting postterm pregnancies, vaginal births after caesarean section and women who are obese. There were also reductions in the use of artificial rupture of membranes for augmentation of labour, forceps and opioids. Use of natural therapies was widespread in 2007. Increases in birth centres managing induction of labour and electronic fetal monitoring were also noted. Conclusions. The changes observed in birth centre practice reflect overall changes in maternity care in Australia from 1997-2007. Relevance to clinical practice. Findings of the study suggest that factors such as increasing obesity and limited admission for vaginal births after caesarean section may lead to proportionately more women being unable to access birth centres as their preferred place of birth. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/28494