OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention on practices for prevention, diagnosis and management of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and on the prevalence of major PPH in a French perinatal network.
DESIGN: Quasi-experimental before-and-after survey.
SETTING: All maternity units (n = 19) of a French administrative region, operating as a perinatal network.
SAMPLE: One representative sample of all women delivering in the network, one representative sample of women with PPH deliveries and an exhaustive sample of women with major PPH.
METHODS: The multifaceted intervention took place between February 2003 and March 2004. Information was retrospectively collected for two periods, 2002 (before the intervention) and 2005 (after).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Practices for prevention, diagnosis and management of PPH and prevalence of major PPH.
RESULTS: After the intervention, the pharmacological prevention of PPH increased from 58.8% to 75.9% of vaginal deliveries (P < 10(-4)), and the use of blood collecting bags from 3.9% to 76.3% (P < 10(-4)), but initial PPH management did not change significantly. However, the median delay for second-line pharmacological treatment was significantly shortened [from 80 min (35-130) in 2002 to 32.5 min (20-75) in 2005]. An increase was observed in the use of surgery for PPH (0.06% versus 0.12% of deliveries; P = 0.03) and in blood transfusions (0.18% versus 0.33%; P = 0.01). The prevalence of major PPH did not change (0.80% versus 0.86% of deliveries; P = 0.62).
CONCLUSIONS: The intervention was effective at improving PPH-related preventive and diagnostic practices in a perinatal network. Improving management practices and reducing the prevalence of major PPH might require a different intervention design.