Induction of labour: Experiences of care and decision-making of women and clinicians.

Background: There has been a rise in induction of labour over recent decades. There is some tension in the literature in relation to when induction is warranted and when not, with variability between guidelines and practice. Given these tensions, the importance of shared decision-making between clinicians and women is increasingly highlighted as paramount, but it remains unclear to what extent this occurs in routine care.

Improvement in iodine status of pregnant Australian women 3 years after introduction of a mandatory iodine fortification programme.

Introduction: In order to address population-level mild iodine deficiency in Australia, a mandatory iodine fortification programme of salt used in bread was introduced in late 2009.

Methods: A before-after study was conducted to assess changes in median urinary iodine concentration (MUIC) measurements, according to supplement use, in convenience samples of pregnant women attending a public antenatal clinic in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia in 2008 (n=139), 2011 (n=147) and 2012 (n=114). Knowledge and practices related to iodine nutrition were investigated in 2012, using self-administered questionnaires.

Poor knowledge and practices related to iodine nutrition during pregnancy and lactation in Australian women: pre- and post-iodine fortification.

A before-after review was undertaken to assess whether knowledge and practices related to iodine nutrition, supplementation and fortification has improved in Australian women since the introduction of mandatory iodine fortification in 2009. Surveys of pregnant (n = 139) and non-pregnant (n = 75) women in 2007-2008 are compared with surveys of pregnant (n = 147) and lactating women (n = 60) one to two years post-fortification in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia. A self-administered questionnaire was completed and dietary intake of iodine was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire.