Maternal and Perinatal Death Review Committee

Note: This article was originally posted in our December 2015 newsletter, and has not been updated.

The College of Midwives regularly receives recommendations from the Office of the Chief Coroner’s (OCC) Maternal and Perinatal Death Review Committee (MPDRC).

The MPDRC makes recommendations based on a careful review of all maternal deaths and a small number of neonatal deaths in Ontario. While the cases reviewed may not be of midwifery care, members of the CMO might be interested in and learn from current clinical recommendations and identified areas of concern in obstetrical care.

The following recommendations are adapted from MPDRC reports and support midwives in providing high quality care to women and newborns in Ontario.

1. Documenting client care should be full, accurate and completed at the time of care or as soon as possible thereafter.
2. Ultrasound and laboratory results should be provided to all health care providers involved in the client’s care and be made available at the location of birth.
3. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) guidelines on labour dystocia should guide intrapartum decisions. The guidelines describe labour dystocia as follows:
   a) In active labour – greater than 4 hours of <0.5 cm per hour cervical dilation.
   b) In active second stage – greater than 1 hour of active pushing and no descent of the presenting part. (ALARM Manual 19th ed. , SOGC. 2012-13, Management of Labour section, pg. 1).
4. The SOGC’s algorithm should guide current decision-making about fetal movement. Please note that the algorithm is from 2007 and the SOGC is in the process of revising it.