Several months ago we invited a small group of obstetric clinicians like you to share their awareness and use of early warning systems.
Why Early Warning Systems?
As you may know, 21 obstetric societies — AWHONN, ACOG, and SMFM included — have recommended EWS as a means of combatting America’s high rate of maternal mortality. They’ve been shown to be effective tools for lowering eclampsia and maternal mortality.
Use of Early Warning Systems
Here’s a summary of the preliminary survey results:
- 62% of respondents were familiar with the research related to EWS.
- Only 22% were using a maternal early warning process, but another 22% were in the process of defining one.
- Very few — only 11.11% — had found that their early warning process had helped to measurably improve outcomes.
- Parameters used in EWS were many, but clustered around maternal vital signs.
- 28.57% of respondents managed their early warning processes through paper-based checklists with the balance scattered across a variety of electronic forms.
Share your awareness & use of perinatal early warning systems
