Table 1:

Characteristics of hospitals and pregnancies in communities with and without closures of local planned obstetric services in British Columbia, 1998–2014

CharacteristicMedian (IQR) or no. (%)
Communities without closuresCommunities with closures
Hospital
No. of hospitals1221
Annual 1998 delivery volume*48 (26–84)29 (15–43)
Next closest hospital with planned obstetric services
 Driving distance, km107 (64–148)79 (41–128)
 Driving time, min72 (58–102)58 (34–110)
 Rural Birth Index score8 (8–10)8 (6–10)
PregnancyPreclosurePostclosure
No. of deliveries892557966153
Delivery at local hospital5064 (56.7)2874 (49.6)169 (2.7)
Maternal age, yr27 (23–31)27 (23–31)28 (24–32)
Nulliparity3725 (41.7)2277 (39.3)2507 (40.7)
Pre-pregnancy BMI†24 (21–28)24 (21–28)24 (21–27)
Birthweight, g3478 (3151–3800)3502 (3170–3830)3464 (3130–3795)
Gestational age at delivery, wk39 (38–40)39 (38–40)39 (38–40)

  • Note: BMI = body mass index, IQR = interquartile range.

  • ↵* 1999 data used for Fort Nelson because data were not available before this point.

  • ↵† Among 11 003 women with available values (53%; 6219 and 4784 in communities with and without closures, respectively).