Supporting Timor-Leste midwives and nurses through an educational program: An evaluative study.

Unlabelled: Little is currently known about the impacts of participation in a five-week Australian maternal and newborn health training program for Timorese midwives and nurses.

Background: The maternal mortality rate in Timor-Leste is estimated to be around 204 per 100,000 live births, and there is a correlation between safe and quality maternal and newborn health services. Hence, there is a need to develop the nation's maternity workforce.

Evaluation of an online education module designed to reduce stillbirth.

Background: The Safer Baby Bundle (SBB) eLearning is an online education module that addresses practice gaps in stillbirth prevention in Australia. It provides healthcare professionals with evidence-based resources for: smoking cessation; fetal growth restriction; decreased fetal movements; maternal safe going-to-sleep position; and timing of birth for women with risk factors for stillbirth.

Aims: To determine whether participants' reported knowledge and confidence in providing care designed to reduce stillbirth changed following completion of the module.

Pretreatment With Mifepristone Compared With Misoprostol Alone for Delivery After Fetal Death Between 14 and 28 Weeks of Gestation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of pretreatment with mifepristone before misoprostol, compared with misoprostol alone, for termination of pregnancy after a fetal death in the second trimester.

Methods: This prospective, double blind, placebo-controlled trial randomized women requiring a termination of pregnancy after fetal death between 14 and 28 weeks of gestation to placebo or 200 mg mifepristone orally 24-48 hours before the termination of pregnancy with misoprostol (400 micrograms every 6 hours vaginally for women at 24 weeks of gestation or less, and 200 micrograms every 4 hours vaginally for women at 24 weeks of gestation or more). Based on a median labor with misoprostol alone in the second trimester of 13 hours, a sample size of 116 women per group was planned to compare the primary outcome of time from administration of misoprostol to delivery.

A prospective review of perinatal mortality at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares (HNGV).

Background: Timor-Leste has one of the highest perinatal mortality rates in the Asia-Pacific region. Consistent and accurate data collection improves understanding of perinatal outcomes and facilitates the development of interventions to reduce stillbirths and early neonatal deaths.

Aims: (1) To identify changes in the rates of stillbirth and early neonatal deaths from previous published data.

Maternal mortality and 'near miss' morbidity at a tertiary hospital in Timor-Leste.

Background: Assessment of severe maternal morbidity is increasingly being undertaken to understand the aetiology and factors which lead to adverse maternal outcomes. Their use in conjunction with maternal deaths may allow a comprehensive assessment of care provided, highlight areas for improvement within the health system and allow benchmarking of care against other institutions. Timor-Leste has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the Asia-Pacific region; however, there has been limited research into the level of severe obstetric morbidity in the country.

Mifepristone and oral, vaginal, or sublingual misoprostol for second-trimester abortion: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of the vaginal and sublingual administration of the synthetic prostaglandin misoprostol with the currently used oral administration route in second-trimester medical abortion.

Methods: This was a prospective randomized trial of medical abortion with misoprostol after mifepristone priming at 14-24 weeks of gestation. From 2009 to 2013, recruited women received 200 mg mifepristone orally followed 24-48 hours later by an 800-microgram vaginal loading dose of misoprostol.

Sharing experiences to improve bereavement support and clinical care after stillbirth: report of the 7th annual meeting of the International Stillbirth Alliance.

Stillbirth remains a global health challenge which is greatly affected by social and economic inequality, particularly the availability and quality of maternity care. The International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA) exists to raise awareness of stillbirth and to promote global collaboration in the prevention of stillbirth and provision of appropriate care for parents whose baby is stillborn. The focus of this ISA conference was to share experiences to improve bereavement support and clinical care.

Infection and fetal loss in the mid-second trimester of pregnancy.

Introduction: Chorioamnionitis is a common cause of second trimester pregnancy loss, usually due to ascending infection. This study investigates the prevalence and bacteriology of chorioamnionitis in cases of spontaneous pregnancy loss in previable gestations (16-22 weeks).

Methods: Fetal losses between 16- and 22-week gestation were identified from the institutional database over a three-year period.

Maternal periodontal disease and perinatal mortality.

Background: Periodontal disease has been associated with increased perinatal mortality.

Aims: To examine the association between maternal periodontal disease and perinatal mortality.

Methods: We performed a retrospective and prospective matched case-control study of women with unexplained perinatal mortality at more than 20 weeks gestational age.

Providing perinatal loss care: satisfying and dissatisfying aspects for midwives.

Purpose: There is limited midwifery research that focuses on midwives experiences and attitudes to providing care for women who experience the death of a baby. There is also limited research investigating care components, and evidence to inform the basis of clinical practice in Australia and internationally. This paper presents the qualitative findings of a small study that aimed to investigate midwives experience, confidence and satisfaction with providing care for women who experienced perinatal loss.