Birth, the first stage of the human life cycle, is critical to how we live and age. In Norway, CSAM’s homeland, over 60,000 babies will be born in 2014. Increasing life expectancy means that many of those born will have long lives, resulting in a major demographic shift. This is a global trend.
Conception and birth are the most remarkable part of the human life cycle with a wide impact. Being born is the common experience for all humanity. Becoming a parent is probably one of the greatest experiences a person can have. Everyone wants the pregnancy and birth to go as smoothly as possible. Apart from immediate impacts, at worst death, any complications or problems could have effects in later life.
Increasing life expectancy focuses on the whole-life health. Many current health initiatives are directed at lifestyle factors such as including diet and exercise. However, research shows that conditions from conception to birth are significant to the health of the individual throughout their life. The effect of the mother’s diet and lifestyle, for example, before and during pregnancy will influence the health of the child throughout their life. More research in this area will create greater focus on the importance of the childhood environment.
As a significant and leading supplier of maternity care solutions for pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal treatment, CSAM has an important role in supporting healthcare staff in facilitating a safe pregnancy. CSAM’s vision is for maternity services to provide the optimal basis for along and healthy life for all.
Playing such a critical role in maternity service delivery is a great responsibility for CSAM. We place the mother and child at the centre of the solutions we offer in maternity care. By helping to make the experience of pregnancy and birth as positive as possible we contribute to a happy experience and gain great satisfaction from supplying solutions for this service.
Although the biology of conception, pregnancy and birth is universal, different countries support the processes in different ways through the allocation of responsibilities. In Sweden, for example, there are midwife-led units which provide complete follow-up of the pregnancy. In Norway responsibility for such care lies with GPs, communities and the hospitals. Maternity care is organised differently. In England pregnancy is usually handled by a combination of Maternity Units at local hospitals, GPs and in some cases district midwifery services. This presents CSAM with a challenge to produce solutions which are adaptable to these different practices across the world. We also need to recognise that apart from supporting today’s systems we must be adaptable to future changes.
This means that CSAM must focus on the entire “value chain” which is more than just pregnancy and delivery. It spans from pre-conception health to early childhood as the foundation for a long and healthy life.
Towards the end of 2013 CSAM augmented its “Partus” product with “Natus”, along with its customer base, as a result of an acquisition from a competitor. CSAM thereby became a national supplier of maternity systems. This enabled CSAM to develop further quality maternity care in Norway and start the development of new types of solutions for maternity care suitable for international application. As a national supplier, CSAM has a national perspective which allows us to develop new solutions
The Pregnancy Medical Record
A significant contribution is the “Pregnancy Medical Record” solution. This complete record for the entire pregnancy has been a long term need in Norway. Currently the solution consists of a paper form that is given to the pregnant woman and which she must bring with her if and when she requires health care services or check-ups. CSAM set up the “Pregnancy Medical Record” service as a complete digital interaction record. This makes it possible for the entire health service involved in providing care to the mother and child to collaborate using a shared pregnancy record. An important feature is that the woman has access to the solution using a mobile device or other technological solutions. Data from the pregnancy journal can be transferred digitally to CSAM’s maternity solutions within the hospital or public health centre, and data collected automatically in this way can be used intra- and postnatally.
The medical/pregnancy record is no longer solely the preserve of the doctor and the nurse. The Pregnancy Medical Record will streamline the Norwegian health service and provide support to all mothers-to-be in years to come. We hope that this will also provide a foundation for the improved overall quality of maternity care.
In keeping with CSAM’s policy of driving integration, the “Pregnancy Medical Record” is not a disconnected, isolated solution. It is part of an interactive platform for all those involved in maternity care. The current manual procedures such as applying to a maternity hospital can be done as an integrated and completely digital process. Pre and post natal questionnaires for the women, the distribution of information and communication between the health care providers will be significantly improved. This will provide a good basis for further development of maternity care as a whole.
Further development includes solutions that assist in giving pregnant women options and follow-up, including facilitating the best possible environment in which the foetus can develop. We are further developing our solutions to enable faster detection of complications or indications of complications in the foetus or mother. We supply dedicated analytical tools and administration solutions so that health care providers will be able to see how maternity care is provided. We provide the tools for analysing what can be done to improve the quality of the service, and we will supply solutions that automate and improve the work flow in labour and maternity wards. In this way CSAM is working systematically to provide solutions that will give each individual a good start for a long and healthy life.