MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof Sally K Tracy DMid
Midwifery and Women's Health Research Unit
University of Sydney, Royal Hospital for Women
Randwick, NSW, Australia
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Prof. Tracy: We recruited 1748 pregnant women, of all risk types, from two tertiary teaching hospitals in different states in Australia and allocated them to receive either caseload midwifery care (871) or standard maternity care (877).
The study found more women in caseload midwifery experienced an unassisted vaginal birth without pharmacological analgesia, and fewer women experienced an elective caesarean. While the trial findings did not show a statistically significant difference in the rate of caesarean sections between either group, the overall rate fell by more than 20 percent from pre-trial levels.
Newborn infants in both groups achieved similar physical assessment scores (Apgar scores). A slightly lower number of pre-term births and neonatal intensive care admissions among the midwifery caseload group was not statistically significant.
Important secondary findings of the study include:
- 30 percent more spontaneous onset of labour
- less induction of labour
- less severe blood loss, and
- stronger likelihood of breastfeeding at discharge from hospital.