Introduction: The North Paris community-based Perinatal Network was set up in 2003 to improve the quality of prenatal care in an area surrounding the Bichat Claude Bernard University Hospital characterized by high social deprivation. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the network on early perinatal care.
Materials and methods: A retrospective observational study on medical records was conducted over four periods: one year before the setting up of the network (2002), the year the network became operational (2003), and one year (2004) and five years (2008) after implementation. Endpoints were the proportion of women delivered in the institution who underwent first-trimester ultrasound screening and the proportion of nuchal translucency measurements deemed acceptable (image quality score from 4 to 9 according to the Herman scoring system).
Results: Between 2002 and 2004, substantial improvements were noted in access to first-trimester ultrasound screening (55.8% in 2002, 65.9% in 2003, 71.9% in 2004, P<0.05) and in the quality of nuchal translucency measurement (acceptable measurement over this period, 51.1%, 67.8% and 77.8%, respectively, P<0.001). Five years after network set-up, indicators remained unchanged from those of 2004. The rate of first ultrasound screening performed was 72.1% and the rate of acceptable measurement 71.1%, both non-statistically different from 2004 rates.
Conclusion: This perinatal network seems to be associated with an improvement in early prenatal care. However, the rate of first ultrasound performed remained unsatisfactory and to further improve these indicators, upstream social interventions are needed.
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