Emergency Preparedness in Obstetrics

Abstract

During and after disasters, focus is directed toward meeting the immediate needs of the general population. As a result, the routine health care and the special needs of some vulnerable populations such as pregnant and postpartum women may be overlooked within a resource-limited setting. In the event of hazards such as natural disasters, manmade disasters, and terrorism, knowledge of emergency preparedness strategies is imperative for the pregnant woman and her family, obstetric providers, and hospitals. Individualized plans for the pregnant woman and her family should include knowledge of shelter in place, birth at home, and evacuation. Obstetric providers need to have a personal disaster plan in place that accounts for work responsibilities in case of an emergency and business continuity strategies to continue to provide care to their communities. Hospitals should have a comprehensive emergency preparedness program utilizing an "all hazards" approach to meet the needs of pregnant and postpartum women and other vulnerable populations during disasters. With lessons learned in recent tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina in mind, we hope this review will stimulate emergency preparedness discussions and actions among obstetric providers and attenuate adverse outcomes related to catastrophes in the future.

Evaluation of Hospitals’ Disaster Preparedness Plans in the Holy City of Makkah (Mecca): A Cross-Sectional Observation Study

“…Hospitals preparedness planning should not overlook the special needs of pediatric, obstetric, and geriatric populations. [20][21][22][23] A US study from 2008 showed that less than one-half of hospitals could accommodate the needs for persons with disability during disasters. 24 Those populations represent a considerable percentage of the Makkah region.…”

Emergency Preparedness in Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Office-Based Anesthesia Practices

“…Emergencies and natural disasters stress a healthcare system and lead to challenges in protecting patients' and providers' welfare [2,3,5,6]. Hospitals and other healthcare systems need to protect patients, employees, and physical resources during such events while continuing to provide care to those in need.…”

“…Planning for an emergency necessitates the creation of emergency preparedness checklists to address several key requirements: 1) Patient notification systems (in case of emergency or closure); 2) Staff notification system (in case of emergency or closure); 3) Medical records backup plan (e.g., cloud servers for electronic records, short term use of paper records); 4) Remote medical record access, 5) Billing services (continuity plan); 6) Security at the facility; 7) Utility emergency shut-off location and procedures; 8) Service availability (define available priority services); 9) Disaster planning for staff (who is expected to work and when) [5].…”

Public Health Humanitarian Responses to Natural Disasters

“…In countries where pregnant women are among the most vulnerable groups after disasters, an emergency preparedness plan for pregnant women at family and community levels can provide maternal care support to pregnant women after disasters. Creating home delivery plans, promoting group support and training community health workers are some components of emergency preparedness plans for maternal care after disasters (Haeri & Marcozzi, 2015).…”