Long-term follow-up of women and their infants affected by near-miss morbidity

Most studies of near-miss maternal morbidity, because of their retrospective hospital-based nature, report relatively short-term outcomes for women, for example, admission to intensive care or the need for hysterectomy to control haemorrhage. However, near-miss morbidities may have significant long-term impacts, both physical and psychological, on parents, their infants and other children. Exploration of these wider impacts is important to inform service provision. This project investigated the feasibility of long-term follow-up of affected women and their infants through both qualitative and quantitative studies of women affected by near-miss maternal morbidities. The qualitative interviews identified a number of important messages for care, which have been used to develop a module on the healthtalk.org website (http://www.healthtalk.org/peoples-experiences/pregnancy-children/conditions-threaten-womens-lives-childbirth-pregnancy/topic).

NPEU Contact:

Marian Knight (marian.knight@npeu.ox.ac.uk)