A recent study has found that women whose childbirth was attended by ob/gyn providers who handled fewer than seven deliveries a year had a 50% higher rate of complications than those attended by high-volume providers.
The four categories of complications studied were: laceration, hemorrhage, infection, and thrombosis.
In contrast, the volume of deliveries at a particular hospital did not appear to affect complication rates.
Researchers concluded that to the extent volume is causally related to lower complication rates, strategies for improving care for women during childbirth may include selective referral to higher-volume providers or additional training for low-volume providers.
Click here for further details about the study.
