Comparison of pregnancy outcomes in two different centers in the year 2017: Havlíčkův Brod Hospital (Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic) and Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital (Maun, Botswana)
Abstrakt
Objective: This study compares pregnancy outcomes from a center in a high income country and another in a middle income country over a period of one calendar year. The goal of this study is to find possible methods by which to improve outcomes by comparing methodologies and statistics from two birth centers in very different demographics.
Design: Cross sectional study, original article
Setting: Havlíčkův Brod Hospital and Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital
Materials and methods: This cross sectional study compared and contrasted pregnancy outcomes in the two aforementioned institutions by first obtaining statistics from their birth registers. This objective data was then combined with observations made by the author during his time working at both centers. Literature review was used to interpret and discuss obtained results.
Results: Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital had a significantly higher number of live births and stillbirths than Havlíčkův Brod Hospital. It also had a higher rate of preeclampsia as well as babies born before arrival to the hospital. Havlíčkův Brod Hospital had a higher rate of postpartum hemorrhage, diagnosed anemia and retained placenta as complications of delivery. Caesarean section rate, maternal deaths and early neonatal deaths in both hospitals were comparable.
Conclusion: While each center had its own shortcomings, the most important markers of maternal deaths and early neonatal deaths were similar and acceptable. This was true despite the differences in the two centers in terms of demography, geography, economics and other factors.
Key words: high income country, middle income country, pregnancy outcome, stillbirth