BC labor and birth data now available to public

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 55, No. 10, December 2013, News

Labor and birth information for every hospital in BC is now available to pregnant women, health care providers, and the general public on a searchable website. This is the first time the hospital-level data are being shared publicly.

The information is being provided by Perinatal Services BC (PSBC), an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, to help maternity care providers improve care for mothers and babies, and help women have informed conversations with their doctors, midwives, or nurse practitioners about their labor and delivery options. Hospitals that deliver similar numbers of babies each year are assigned to peer groups on the website, and each hospital’s rate is presented alongside the peer group rate and the provincial rate. 

PSBC collects perinatal information through the BC Perinatal Data Registry, using five indicators to determine that the information is important to the health and well-being of mothers and babies, measurable, and based on solid evidence that supports the best approach to care. 

The indicators are:

• Vaginal delivery for first-time mothers.

• Repeat cesarean section before 39 weeks (early term).

• Post-date induction before 41 weeks.

• Exclusive use of intermittent auscultation during labor.

• Babies who were breastfed from birth to discharge. 

For a more detailed explanation of the indicators visit www.perinatalservicesbc.ca/NR/rdonlyres/BF5C8434-3A32-4CB2-AADB-988E4C3A...

To access the labor and birth data for BC hospitals, visit www.perinatalservicesbc.ca/DataAndSurveillance/Surveillance/FacilityLeve....

. BC labor and birth data now available to public. BCMJ, Vol. 55, No. 10, December, 2013, Page(s) - News.


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