Assessing Risk of Interfacility Transport in Pregnant Patients due to Progression of Labor – Lessons from a Specialized Maternal-Fetal Transport Program

Abstract Background Pregnant laboring patients sometimes require interfacility transfer to a higher level of care. There is a paucity of evidence to inform when it is safe to transfer a laboring patient and when delivery may be too imminent to transfer. Methods This is a retrospective study of pregnant patients undergoing interfacility transfer with a specialized obstetric transport team deployed from a large Midwest regional healthcare system. The primary outcome was delivery prior to or within 1 hour of arrival at the receiving institution due to progression of labor. Data collected included basic demographics, vital signs, gravity, parity, gestational age, contraction frequency if contractions were present, and cervical dilation. We sought to define the association between these variables and the primary outcome to inform risk assessment for precipitous delivery among patients being considered for interfacility transfer. Results Of 370 pregnant patients for whom the specialized transfer team was requested, 11 (3%) met the primary outcome. Those with more advanced cervical dilation and those who did not have regular prenatal care were more likely to meet the criteria for the primary outcome. For every centimeter of cervical dilation, the odds of meeting the primary outcome increased 2.3-fold (95% CI 1.5 to 3.4). Conclusions We identify risk factors for early delivery among pregnant patients for whom an interfacility transfer was requested and describe patients who were high-risk for obstetric interfacility transport due to progression of labor. Our results can help inform risk assessments for the transfer of potentially high-risk laboring patients.