Advertisement
JOGC
Obstetrics| Volume 38, ISSUE 7, P627-635, July 2016

Temporal and Regional Variations in Operative Vaginal Delivery in Canada by Pelvic Station, 2004-2012

  • Giulia M. Muraca
    Affiliations
    School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC

    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC

    Children's and Women's Hospital and Health Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
    Search for articles by this author
  • Yasser Sabr
    Affiliations
    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC

    Children's and Women's Hospital and Health Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver BC

    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
    Search for articles by this author
  • Rollin Brant
    Affiliations
    Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
    Search for articles by this author
  • Geoffrey W. Cundiff
    Affiliations
    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC

    Children's and Women's Hospital and Health Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
    Search for articles by this author
  • K.S. Joseph
    Affiliations
    School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC

    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC

    Children's and Women's Hospital and Health Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
    Search for articles by this author

      Abstract

      Objective

      To describe temporal and regional variations in Canada in the use of operative vaginal delivery (OVD) at term for singleton pregnancies by pelvic station between 2004 and 2013.

      Methods

      Rates of OVD among term singleton pregnancies in Canada (excluding Quebec) were estimated using information from the Discharge Abstract Database of the Canadian Institute for Health Information for the years 2004-2012 (n = 2 284 109). Deliveries were stratified by pelvic station. Temporal trends were assessed using the Cochran-Armitage test for linear trend in proportions by year. Geographic variation was assessed by calculating the rate and 95% confidence interval of each mode of delivery from 2010-2012 for each province and territory.

      Results

      Among singleton pregnancies at term, the OVD rate decreased from 12.0% in 2004 to 10.7% in 2012 (P < 0.001), whereas Caesarean section rates (excluding those following failed OVDs) increased from 24.9% to 26.7%. Forceps deliveries decreased from 3.1% to 2.5%, primarily due to decreases in midpelvic forceps delivery. Vacuum-assisted delivery increased significantly at outlet and low stations (by 26.0% and 15.1%, respectively) and remained stable at midpelvic station. The failed OVD rate was 0.3% and decreased by 23.7% (P < 0.001). There were large variations in OVD rates by province.

      Conclusion

      Temporal trends in OVD rates varied by pelvic station, with rates of outlet and low OVD increasing and rates of midpelvic and failed OVD decreasing. Vacuum extraction is increasingly replacing forceps deliveries at outlet and low stations, whereas Caesarean sections are replacing forceps deliveries at midpelvic stations. Variations in OVD rates across provinces suggest differences in instrument preference and/or an evolution in standards of practice.

      Résumé

      Objectif

      Décrire les variations temporelles et régionales caractérisant l’accouchement vaginal opératoire (AVO) à terme en station pelvienne dans les cas de grossesse monofœtale au Canada, de 2004 à 2013.

      Méthodes

      Nous avons estimé les taux d’AVO parmi les grossesses monofœtales menées à terme au Canada (à l’exclusion du Québec), en utilisant les renseignements fournis par la base de données sur les congés des patients de l’Institut canadien d’information sur la santé pour la période de 2004 à 2012 (n = 2 284 109). Nous avons stratifié les accouchements d’après la position pelvienne. Nous avons également évalué les tendances temporelles à l’aide du test de Cochran-Armitage, afin de déterminer si les proportions variaient linéairement selon l’année. Nous avons enfin déterminé la variation géographique en calculant le taux et l’IC à 95 % de tous les modes d’accouchement réalisés dans chaque province et territoire, de 2010 à 2012.

      Résultats

      Parmi les grossesses monofœtales menées à terme, le taux d’AVO a diminué pour passer de 12,0 %, en 2004, à 10,7 % en 2012 (P < 0,001), tandis que le taux de césariennes a augmenté (sauf celles réalisées après l’échec d’une tentative d’AVO), pour passer de 24,9 % à 26,7 %. La proportion d’accouchements par forceps est passée de 3,1 % à 2,5 %. Ce recul est principalement attribuable à une baisse du nombre d’accouchements par forceps en station mi-pelvienne. Le nombre d’accouchements assistés par ventouse a augmenté significativement en position vulvaire et par voie basse (de 26,0 % et de 15,1 %, respectivement) et est demeuré stable en station mi-pelvienne. Le taux d’échecs de tentatives d’AVO, qui s’est établi à 0,3%, a régressé de 23,7 % (P < 0,001). Les taux d’AVO varient largement selon la province.

      Conclusion

      Les tendances temporelles qui caractérisent les taux d’AVO varient selon la position pelvienne. Ainsi, les taux d’AVO en position vulvaire et par voie basse ont augmenté, alors que les taux d’AVO en station mi-pelvienne et d’échecs de tentatives d’AVO ont diminué. De plus en plus, l’extraction par ventouse remplace les forceps dans les cas d’accouchement assisté en position vulvaire ou par voie basse. Toutefois, la césarienne est en voie de remplacer l’accouchement assisté par forceps en station mi-pelvienne. La variation des taux d’AVO selon les provinces laisse supposer des différences quant à la préférence pour les instruments et (ou) une évolution des normes de pratique.

      Key Words

      Abbreviations:

      CCI (Canadian Classification of Interventions), CI (confidence interval), CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research), ICD (International Classification of Diseases), NOS (not otherwise specified), OVD (operative vaginal delivery)
      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      References

        • Martin J.A.
        • Hamilton B.E.
        • Osterman M.J.
        • Curtin S.C.
        • Matthews T.J.
        Births: final data for 2013.
        Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2015; 64: 1-65
        • Daly N.
        • Bonham S.
        • O'Dwyer V.
        • O'Connor C.
        • Kent E.
        • Turner M.J.
        National variations in operative vaginal deliveries in Ireland.
        Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2014; 125: 210-213
        • Government of Canada Publications
        Canadian Perinatal Health Report 2003.
        Health Canada, 2003 (Available at:) (Accessed on April 14, 2016)
      1. Public Health Agency of Canada. Canadian Perinatal Health Report - 2008 Edition. Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/2008/cphr-rspc/index-eng.php. Accessed on April 14, 2016.

        • Clark S.L.
        • Belfort M.A.
        • Hankins G.D.
        • Meyers J.A.
        • Houser F.M.
        Variation in the rates of operative delivery in the United States.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 196: 526.e1-526.e5
        • Caughey A.B.
        • Cahill A.G.
        • Guise J.-M.
        • Rouse D.J.
        Safe prevention of the primary cesarean delivery.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014; 210: 179-193
        • Hagadorn-Freathy A.S.
        • Yeomans E.R.
        • Hankins G.D.
        Validation of the 1988 ACOG forceps classification system.
        Obstet Gynecol. 1991; 77: 356-360
        • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
        Operative vaginal delivery. Practice Bulletin No. 154.
        Obstet Gynecol. 2015; 126: e56-e65
        • Towner D.
        • Castro M.A.
        • Eby-Wilkens E.
        • Gilbert W.M.
        Effect of mode of delivery in nulliparous women on neonatal intracranial injury.
        N Engl J Med. 1999; 341: 1709-1714
        • Joseph K.S.
        • Fahey J.
        Validation of perinatal data in the Discharge Abstract Database of the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
        Chronic Dis Can. 2009; 29: 96-100
        • Cunningham F.G.
        • Leveno K.J.
        • Bloom S.L.
        • Hauth J.C.
        • Rouse D.J.
        • Spong C.Y.
        Williams Obstetrics.
        ed 23. McGraw-Hill Medical, New York2010
        • Loudon J.
        • Groom K.
        • Hinkson L.
        • Harrington D.
        • Paterson-Brown S.
        Changing trends in operative delivery performed at full dilatation over a 10-year period.
        J Obstet Gynaecol. 2010; 30: 370-375
        • Yeomans E.R.
        Operative vaginal delivery.
        Obstet Gynecol. 2010; 115: 645-653
        • Goetzinger K.R.
        • Macones G.A.
        Operative vaginal delivery: current trends in obstetrics.
        Womens Health (Lond Engl). 2008; 4: 281-290
        • Joseph K.S.
        • Young D.C.
        • Dodds L.
        • O'Connell C.M.
        • Allen V.M.
        • Chandra S.
        • et al.
        Changes in maternal characteristics and obstetric practice and recent increases in primary cesarean delivery.
        Obstet Gynecol. 2003; 102: 791-800
        • Majoko F.
        • Gardener G.
        Trial of instrumental delivery in theatre versus immediate caesarean section for anticipated difficult assisted births.
        Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012; 10: CD005545
        • Hauth J.C.
        • Gilstrap L.C.
        • Hankins G.D.
        Examination of data base in midforceps delivery study.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1985; 153: 814
        • Dierker L.J.
        • Rosen M.G.
        • Thompson K.
        • Debanne S.
        • Linn P.
        The midforceps: maternal and neonatal outcomes.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1985; 152: 176-183
        • Dierker L.J.
        • Rosen M.G.
        • Thompson K.
        • Lynn P.
        Midforceps deliveries: long-term outcome of infants.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1986; 154: 764-768
        • Bashore R.A.
        • Phillips Jr., W.H.
        • Brinkman 3rd, C.R.
        A comparison of the morbidity of midforceps and cesarean delivery.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1990; 162: 1428-1434
        • Baerthlein W.C.
        • Moodley S.
        • Stinson S.K.
        Comparison of maternal and neonatal morbidity in midforceps delivery and midpelvis vacuum extraction.
        Obstet Gynecol. 1986; 67: 594-597
        • Robertson P.A.
        • Laros Jr., R.K.
        • Zhao R.-L.
        Neonatal and maternal outcome in low-pelvic and midpelvic operative deliveries.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1990; 162: 1436-1444
        • Cargill Y.M.
        • MacKinnon C.J.
        • Arsenault M.-Y.
        • Bartellas E.
        • Daniels S.
        • Gleason T.
        • et al.
        Guidelines for operative vaginal birth.
        J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2004; 26: 747-761
        • Dupuis O.
        • Silveira R.
        • Dupont C.
        • Mottolese C.
        • Kahn P.
        • Dittmar A.
        • et al.
        Comparison of “instrument-associated” and “spontaneous” obstetric depressed skull fractures in a cohort of 68 neonates.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005; 192: 165-170
        • Murphy D.J.
        • Liebling R.E.
        • Verity L.
        • Swingler R.
        • Patel R.
        Early maternal and neonatal morbidity associated with operative delivery in second stage of labour: a cohort study.
        Lancet. 2001; 358: 1203-1207
        • Gardella C.
        • Taylor M.
        • Benedetti T.
        • Hitti J.
        • Critchlow C.
        The effect of sequential use of vacuum and forceps for assisted vaginal delivery on neonatal and maternal outcomes.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2001; 185: 896-902
        • Bhide A.
        • Guven M.
        • Prefumo F.
        • Vankalayapati P.
        • Thilaganathan B.
        Maternal and neonatal outcome after failed ventouse delivery: comparison of forceps versus cesarean section.
        J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2007; 20: 541-545
        • Ben-Haroush A.
        • Melamed N.
        • Kaplan B.
        • Yogev Y.
        Predictors of failed operative vaginal delivery: a single-center experience.
        Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 197: 308.e1-308.e5
        • Wen S.W.
        • Liu S.
        • Marcoux S.
        • Fowler D.
        Uses and limitations of routine hospital admission/separation records for perinatal surveillance.
        Chronic Dis Can. 1997; 18: 113-119