Delayed access to emergency obstetrical care among preeclamptic and non-preeclamptic women in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

BACKGROUND: The primary objective of this comparative, cross-sectional study was to identify factors affecting delays in accessing emergency obstetric care and clinical consequences of delays among preeclamptic and non-preeclamptic women in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. METHODS: We administered 524 surveys to women admitted to the Médecins Sans Frontières Centre de Référence en Urgences Obstétricales (CRUO) obstetric emergency hospital. Survey questions addressed first (at home), second (transport) and third (health facility) delays; demographic, clinical, and behavioral risk factors for delay; and clinical outcomes for women and infants. Bivariate statistics assessed relationships between preeclampsia status and delay, and between risk factors and delay. RESULTS: We found longer delays to care for preeclamptic women (mean 14.6 h, SD 27.9 versus non-preeclamptic mean 6.8 h, SD 10.5, p < 0.01), primarily attributable to delays before leaving for hospital (mean 13.4 h, SD 30.0 versus non-preeclamptic mean 5.5 h, SD 10.5). Few demographic, clinical, or behavioral factors were associated with care access. Poor outcomes were more likely among preeclamptic women and infants, including intensive care unit admission (10.7%, vs. 0.5% among non-preeclamptic women, p < 0.01) and eclampsia (10.7% vs. no cases, p < 0.01) for women, and neonatal care unit admission (45.6% vs. 15.4%, p < 0.01) and stillbirth (9.9% vs. 0.5%, p < 0.01). Longer delays among both groups were not associated with poorer clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women with preeclampsia in Port-au-Prince reported significant delays in accessing emergency obstetric care. This study provides clear evidence that hospital proximity alone does not mitigate the long delays in accessing emergency obstetrical care for Haitian urban, poor women.