Telemonitoring pregnancy at home as safe as hospitalization

Researchers at UMC Utrecht have concluded that home telemonitoring of complicated pregnancies is just as safe as hospitalization for outcome. At the moment, women with a complicated pregnancy often have to go to hospital for admission. These recordings can sometimes take weeks.

Mireille Bekker and Arie Franx conducted research into telemonitoring of a complicated pregnancy from home. The study showed that the use of e-health can work just as well as hospitalization. Partly due to the corona pandemic, the research gained momentum. A total of 200 pregnant women participated in the study at UMC Utrecht, among others, but also in five other Dutch hospitals.

Positive outcomes

Within the study, several aspects were examined, such as: safety, patient satisfaction and the costs of telemonitoring from home compared to hospital care. After considering everything, it turned out that home monitoring is a safe alternative. There was also little difference in mental and physical well-being after childbirth between the telemonitoring group and the control group.

Lower costs

Healthcare costs go down considerably when a woman with a complicated pregnancy uses telemonitoring from home. Costs per patient fell about eighteen percent. Bekker and Franx say the following about this: “The results are important in the search for alternatives to expensive hospital admissions, for example treatments that take place at home under the responsibility of a medical specialist.”