Outcomes
The obstetric outcomes of interest were pregnancy complications,
placental abnormalities, PPH and adverse birth outcomes. Pregnancy
complications were extracted from medical records and mainly included
gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), gestational hypertension (GH),
preeclampsia (PE) and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). GDM
was diagnosed based on a standard 75 g oral glucose tolerance test
(OGTT) according to the recommendations of the International Association
of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) 26. GH
and PE were diagnosed according to the guidelines for the diagnosis and
management of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy 27.
ICP was diagnosed according to the guidelines of the Chinese Medical
Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology 28.
Placental abnormalities and PPH were also extracted from the medical
records. Placental abnormalities comprised low-lying placenta, placenta
previa and placenta accreta spectrum, including placenta
accrete/increta/percreta. PPH was defined as blood loss ≥ 500 ml for
vaginal delivery or blood loss ≥ 1000 mL for cesarean section. This
definition was based on guidelines from the Chinese Society of
Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chinese Medical Association29. Additionally, hemostatic therapies that referred
women receiving Bakri balloon tamponade (BBT) or surgical management
(vascular ligation and uterine compression sutures) for preventing PPH
were also extracted.
Adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth (PTB), cervical
insufficiency, small for gestational age (SGA) and macrosomia, were
extracted from medical records or newborn birth records. PTB was defined
as a live birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation in accordance
with the World Health Organization (WHO) definitions30. Then, PTB was categorized into three clinical
subtypes: spontaneous PTB, preterm premature rupture of membranes
(PPROM) and iatrogenic preterm birth. Iatrogenic PTB was defined as
either induction or cesarean section before the onset of labor31,32. Additionally, the cervical cerclage rate, which
is based on the indication of a history of abortion with painless
cervical dilation or progressive shortening of the cervical lenth in
this pregnancy in the second trimester, was also extracted and reflected
cervical insufficiency to some extent 33. SGA was
defined as newborns with birth weight below the 10th percentile for
gestational age.