Binational confidential enquiry of maternal deaths due to postpartum hemorrhage in France and the Netherlands: Lessons learned through the perspective of a different context of care

Abstract

Objective: To learn lessons for maternity care by scrutinizing postpartum hemorrhage management (PPH) in cases of PPH-related maternal deaths in France and the Netherlands.

Methods: In this binational Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (CEMD), 14 PPH-related maternal deaths were reviewed by six experts from the French and Dutch national maternal death review committees regarding cause and preventability of death, clinical care and healthcare organization. Improvable care factors and lessons learned were identified. CEMD practices and PPH guidelines in France and the Netherlands were compared in the process.

Results: For France, new insights were primarily related to organization of healthcare, with lessons learned focusing on medical leadership and implementation of (surgical) checklists. For the Netherlands, insights were mainly related to clinical care, emphasizing hemostatic surgery earlier in the course of PPH and reducing the third stage of labor by prompter manual removal of the placenta. Experts recommended extending PPH guidelines with specific guidance for women refusing blood products and systematic evaluation of risk factors. The quality of CEMD was presumed to benefit from enhanced case finding, also through non-obstetric sources, and electronic reporting of maternal deaths to reduce the administrative burden.

Conclusion: A binational CEMD revealed opportunities for improvement of care beyond lessons learned at the national level.

Keywords: France; confidential enquiry into maternal deaths; maternal mortality; maternity care; obstetrics; postpartum hemorrhage; the Netherlands.