A recent article in the Wall Street Journal describes some of the ways health care professionals are collaborating to improve obstetrics care, thanks in part to grants from the federalAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Failure to recognize an infant in distress
Failure to properly resuscitate a baby
Inappropriate use of labor-inducing drugs
Misuse of vacuums and forceps
The work from these groups to combat these issues has led to dramatic declines in birth injuries and deaths. Some of the programs they’ve introduced in hospitals include:
- Developing packages of procedures that produce the best results
- Assuring that nurses and technicians will speak up if they think something is wrong
- Using delivery-room training with robots and video cameras to capture and review each step taken
