Appropriateness and pregnancy outcomes of pregnant women referred to Chris Hani Baragwanath academic hospital for prolonged pregnancy

Abstract

Background A pregnant woman is considered to have a prolonged pregnancy when her pregnancy has extended beyond 42 gestational weeks. The diagnosis of prolonged pregnancy is difficult to make especially when these women are not sure of their last menstrual period or never had early pregnancy ultrasounds scan. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the appropriateness of referral and the pregnancy outcomes of women referred to CHBAH for prolonged pregnancy. Methods This was a secondary analysis of data from a cross sectional study on “predictive ability of clinical palpation for estimating amniotic fluid volume in suspected prolonged pregnancy”, considering the gestational age at the time of referral. Results One hundred women were recruited. Fifty-five of them were found to be inappropriately referred while 45 were found to be appropriately referred with no statistical difference between the two groups. Conclusion The majority of the referrals were inappropriate.