Continuous care during labor by maternity care assistants in the Netherlands vs care-as-usual: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Continuous support during labor has many benefits including lower use of obstetrical interventions. However, implementation remains limited. Insights into birth outcomes and peripartum costs are essential to assess whether continuous care by a maternity care assistant is a potentially (cost) effective program to provide for all women.

The effects of COVID-19 restrictions and other perinatal factors on women's sense of control during childbirth: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Restrictions around childbirth, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, could decrease maternal feelings of control during birth. The aim of this study was to compare the sense of control of women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic with women who gave birth before COVID-19. The secondary objective was to identify other factors independently associated with women's sense of control during birth.