Continuity of Midwifery Care for a High-Risk Pregnancy Complicated by Hypertension and a Prolonged Interpregnancy Interval: A Case Study

Authors

  • Rena Oki Alestari Universitas Eka Harap Palangka Raya, Indonesia
  • Lidia Widia Universitas Eka Harap Palangka Raya, Indonesia
  • Ivana Devitasari Universitas Eka Harap Palangka Raya, Indonesia
  • Neneng Safitri Universitas Eka Harap Palangka Raya, Indonesia
  • Annisa Nur’aini R Public Health Center of Cempaka Mulia, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53713/htechj.v4i5.745

Keywords:

continuity of care, high-risk pregnancy, hypertension in pregnancy, interpregnancy interval, midwifery care

Abstract

Continuity of care is an important approach in maternal and neonatal health services, particularly for pregnancies complicated by multiple risk factors. Maternal hypertension combined with a prolonged interpregnancy interval requires systematic surveillance across pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, and neonatal care. This study aimed to describe the implementation and clinical outcomes of comprehensive continuity of midwifery care in a high-risk pregnancy involving hypertension and an interpregnancy interval of more than 10 years. A single-case study was conducted at the Cempaka Mulia Public Health Center in Cempaga District, East Kotawaringin Regency, Indonesia, from February to April 2025. The participant was a 31-year-old woman, G2P1A0, at 34 weeks of gestation. Care was provided from the third trimester through intrapartum, neonatal, postpartum, and family planning services using Varney’s seven-step midwifery management approach and SOAP documentation. Antenatal assessment identified hypertension with a blood pressure of 147/98 mmHg. Labor progressed spontaneously, with a blood pressure of 119/89 mmHg at admission. A male infant was delivered vaginally with a birth weight of 2,900 g, body length of 46 cm, and an Apgar score of 9/10. No major maternal or neonatal complications were documented during follow-up. Four postpartum visits were completed, and a three-month injectable contraceptive was provided on postpartum day 48. Comprehensive continuity of midwifery care supported systematic risk monitoring, coordinated maternal and neonatal management, and sustained postpartum and reproductive health follow-up in this high-risk pregnancy.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Beltrame, T. B., de Oliveira, A. C., Manera, F., Fernandes, R. C., de Castilho, B. M., & Höfelmann, D. A. (2023). Trajectory of blood pressure levels and weight gain in pregnant women: A group-based approach. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 33(10), 2019–2027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.06.006

Bradford, B. F., Wilson, A. N., Portela, A., McConville, F., Fernandez Turienzo, C., & Homer, C. S. E. (2022). Midwifery continuity of care: A scoping review of where, how, by whom and for whom? PLOS Global Public Health, 2(10), e0000935. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000935

Burd, J., Woolfolk, C., Frolova, A., Zofkie, A., Odibo, A., Carter, E. B., Kelly, J. C., Cahill, A. G., & Raghuraman, N. (2024). Association between interpregnancy interval and the labor curve. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, 6(8), 101425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajogmf.2024.101425

Cífková, R. (2023). Hypertension in pregnancy: A diagnostic and therapeutic overview. High Blood Pressure & Cardiovascular Prevention, 30(4), 289–303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-023-00582-5

Crouch, C., Seeho, S., & Morris, J. (2024). Intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring: Rationalise, refine or replace? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 64(1), 77–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajo.13752

Damasceno, A. A. de A., Matijasevich, A., Mosquera, P. S., Malta, M. B., & Cardoso, M. A. (2024). Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Western Brazilian Amazon: Associated factors and neonatal outcomes. American Journal of Human Biology, 36(5), e24026. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24026

Daubert, M. A., Stebbins, A., Peragallo-Urrutia, R., Chiswell, K., Loop, M. S., Harding, C., Price, T., & Wang, T. Y. (2024). Early postpartum blood pressure screening is associated with increased detection of cardiovascular risk factors in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. American Heart Journal, 273, 130–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2024.03.014

Divecha, C. A., & Tullu, M. S. (2026). From bedside to journal: Writing high-quality case reports. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 72(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpgm.jpgm_1036_25

Fox, D., Scarf, V., Turkmani, S., Rossiter, C., Coddington, R., Sheehy, A., Catling, C., Cummins, A., & Baird, K. (2023). Midwifery continuity of care for women with complex pregnancies in Australia: An integrative review. Women and Birth, 36(2), e187–e194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2022.07.001

Heim, M. A., & Makuch, M. Y. (2023). Breathing techniques during labor: A multinational narrative review of efficacy. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 32(1), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1891/JPE-2021-0029

Henderson, J. T., Webber, E. M., Thomas, R. G., & Vesco, K. K. (2023). Screening for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: Updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA, 330(11), 1083–1091. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.4934

Hermans, A. C. M., Boertien, S., van den Berg, L. M. M., de Jonge, A., Janssen, D. E. M. C., Franx, A., van der Kooy, J., & de Kroon, M. L. A. (2025). Parent’s perspective on continuity of care in the maternity care and child health services continuum: A qualitative systematic review. International Journal of Integrated Care, 25(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.8645

Huang, S., Yitayew, M., & Rozycki, H. J. (2024). The contribution of low Apgar scores in identifying neonates with short-term morbidities in a large single center cohort. Journal of Perinatology, 44, 865–872. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-01944-0

Joshi, N., Bakshi, H., Chatterjee, A., & Bhartia, S. (2022). Initiative to improve quality of paediatric ward-round documentation by application of ‘SOAP’ format. BMJ Open Quality, 11(Suppl. 1), e001472. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2021-001472

Khalil, A., Samara, A., O’Brien, P., Coutinho, C. M., Quintana, S. M., & Ladhani, S. N. (2023). A call to action: The global failure to effectively tackle maternal mortality rates. The Lancet Global Health, 11(8), e1165–e1167. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00247-4

Kuipers, Y. J. (2024). The future of midwife-led continuity of care: Call for a dialogue. Dialogues in Health, 4, 100170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dialog.2024.100170

Kuipers, Y., Aitken-Arbuckle, A., Jenkins, H., Watson, S., King, M., & Zemouri, C. (2026). Midwife continuity of care: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 174, 105300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2025.105300

Luo, M., Wang, Y., Wang, Y., Zhao, J., & Gao, J. (2026). Association of interpregnancy interval with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: A retrospective cohort study. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 39(1), 2661436. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2026.2661436

Mulongo, S. M., Kaura, D., & Mash, B. (2024). A mixed methods study on continuity and care coordination based on the obstetric near miss approach. Health SA Gesondheid, 29, a2421. https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v29i0.2421

Sandall, J., Fernandez Turienzo, C., Devane, D., Soltani, H., Gillespie, P., Gates, S., Jones, L. V., Shennan, A. H., & Rayment-Jones, H. (2024). Midwife continuity of care models versus other models of care for childbearing women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2024(4), CD004667. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub6

Sevoyan, M., Geraci, M., Frongillo, E. A., Liu, J., & Boghossian, N. S. (2024). Interpregnancy interval and adverse perinatal outcomes: A within-individual comparative method. Health Science Reports, 7(8), e2313. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.2313

Shahinfar, S., Abedi, P., Najafian, M., Abbaspoor, Z., Mohammadi, E., Alianmoghaddam, N., & Maraghi, E. (2024). Effect of continuity of team midwifery care on maternal and neonatal outcomes: A quasi-experimental study in Iran. Scientific Reports, 14, 22819. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73751-8

Shahshahani, M. A., Liu, X., Norman, M., Tilden, E. L., & Ahlberg, M. (2024). Midwifery continuity of care, breastfeeding and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: A retrospective cohort study. Midwifery, 136, 104079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2024.104079

Sholikah, S. M., Nurwulansari, F., Aini, E. N., Wardoyo, S., & Pramudita, J. J. (2025). The role of continuity of care in high-risk pregnant women in Indonesia. European Journal of Midwifery, 9, 2. https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/195831

Steenland, M. W., Oviedo, D., Bates, M. A., Zhou, A., Zera, C., Baicker, K., & McConnell, M. A. (2025). Effect of an intensive nurse home visiting program on postpartum contraceptive use and birth spacing: A randomized controlled trial. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 145(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000005786

Susanti, A. I., Ali, M., Hernawan, A. H., Rinawan, F. R., Purnama, W. G., Puspitasari, I. W., & Stellata, A. G. (2022). Midwifery continuity of care in Indonesia: Initiation of mobile health development integrating midwives’ competency and service needs. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(21), 13893. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113893

Symon, A., Mortensen, B., Pripp, A. H., Chhugani, M., Adjorlolo, S., Badzi, C., Kharb, R., Prussing, E., McFadden, A., Gray, N. M., & Cummins, A. (2025). Validating the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care Framework Index: A global tool for quality-of-care evaluations. Birth, 52(2), 347–352. https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12895

Tedde, J. G. G., Cerqueira-Silva, T., Garcia, S. A. L., Amira, B. V., Rodrigues, L. C., Barreto, M. L., Rocha, A. S., Ribeiro-Silva, R. C., Falcão, I. R., & Paixao, E. S. (2024). Association of interpregnancy interval with adverse pregnancy outcomes according to the outcomes of the preceding pregnancy: A longitudinal study with 4.7 million live births from Brazil. The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 30, 100687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2024.100687

Tessema, G. A., Håberg, S. E., Pereira, G., Regan, A. K., Dunne, J., & Magnus, M. C. (2022). Interpregnancy interval and adverse pregnancy outcomes among pregnancies following miscarriages or induced abortions in Norway (2008–2016): A cohort study. PLOS Medicine, 19(11), e1004129. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004129

Van Eekhout, J. C. A., Becking, E. C., Scheffer, P. G., Koutsoliakos, I., Bax, C. J., Henneman, L., Bekker, M. N., & Schuit, E. (2025). First-trimester prediction models based on maternal characteristics for adverse pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 132(3), 243–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17983

Wainaina, G. M., Kaura, D., & Jordan, P. (2024). A systematic review on continuity of care for effective coordination in maternal and neonatal health continuum: Experiences of skilled birth attendants. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 21, 100776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2024.100776

Wu, P., Green, M., & Myers, J. E. (2023). Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. BMJ, 381, e071653. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-071653

Xiu, S., Tang, L., Qin, C., Tian, D., Chen, Y., Gu, L., Yang, L., Sun, Y., Liu, X., Lin, Y., & Wang, Y. (2025). Association between interpregnancy interval and adverse perinatal outcomes according to maternal age in the context of China’s two-child policy. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 25(1), 81. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-025-07136-8

Downloads

Published

2026-10-02

How to Cite

Rena Oki Alestari, Lidia Widia, Ivana Devitasari, Neneng Safitri, & Annisa Nur’aini R. (2026). Continuity of Midwifery Care for a High-Risk Pregnancy Complicated by Hypertension and a Prolonged Interpregnancy Interval: A Case Study. Health and Technology Journal (HTechJ), 4(5), 595–605. https://doi.org/10.53713/htechj.v4i5.745