The outcomes of this research will see fewer children admitted to intensive care at birth, have fewer episodes of life threatening morbidities, and potentially these children will have improved longer term educational outcomes. The research question is: does the provision of educational materials to care givers, mothers and their families safely lengthen the duration of pregnancy, reduce early planned birth rates and reduce health care utilisation costs?
The program of research will provide decision support and raise awareness to practitioners and pregnant women about the importance of timing elective birth as close to 39 weeks as is safely possible. Such approaches have successfully been implemented overseas and also in Western Australia. The researchers are partnering with those who have successfully implemented practice change in WA. A series of interventions will be evaluated to see whether more judicious decision making with respect to the timing of elective birth, leads to less newborn morbidity and newborn intensive care utilisation.
Collaborators: Central Coast Local Health District, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District