Breastfeeding rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australia: A systematic review and narrative analysis.

Background: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (referred to hereafter as Aboriginal) women breastfeed at lower rates than non-Aboriginal women, and rates vary across and within Aboriginal populations.

Aim: To determine rates of breastfeeding initiation and maintenance and compare individually collected survey data with existing routinely collected state and national breastfeeding data for Aboriginal women.

Methods: CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane library were searched for peer-reviewed literature published between 1995 and 2021.

Preventing postnatal depression in new mothers using telephone peer support: protocol for the DAISY (Depression and AnxIety peer Support studY) multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Postnatal depression affects up to one in six new mothers in Australia each year, with significant impacts on the woman and her family. Prevention strategies can be complicated by a woman's reluctance to seek professional help. Peer support is a promising but inadequately tested early intervention.

Women's views and experiences of a new Midwifery Group Practice model in rural Australia.

Background: Women in rural Australia often have limited maternity care options available, and in Victoria, like many Australian states, numerous small hospitals no longer offer birthing services.

Aim: To evaluate women's views and experiences of maternity care at a local rural hospital that re-established birthing services with a Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) model of maternity care.

Methods: Women who booked into the new MGP model from May 2021 to June 2022 were invited to complete an anonymous online survey and participate in an optional additional semi-structured interview to explore their views and experiences.

Rural and regional maternity managers' and educators' views of the Maternity and Newborn Emergencies (MANE) education program in Victoria, Australia: a qualitative descriptive study.

Background: Australia has one of the lowest perinatal morbidity and mortality rates in the world, however a cluster of perinatal deaths at a regional health service in the state of Victoria in 2015 led to state-wide reforms, including the introduction of the Maternity and Newborn Emergencies (MANE) program. MANE was a 2-day interprofessional maternity education program delivered by external expert facilitators to rural and regional Victorian maternity service providers. An independent evaluation found that the MANE program improved the confidence and knowledge of clinicians in managing obstetric emergencies and resulted in changes to clinical practice.

Identifying women with a disability in Australian maternity services: Time for a change.

It is estimated that over 1 billion people worldwide have a disability. In Australia, 9% of women of childbearing age have a disability, but data on disability status for women accessing maternity services are not routinely collected and data collection processes are inconsistent. Maternal disability may affect perinatal outcomes, but to understand what factors might be amenable to interventions to improve outcomes, accurate data collection on disability status is essential.

Midwifery workforce challenges in Victoria, Australia. A cross-sectional study of maternity managers.

Background: In Australia, there is a lack of accurate data on midwifery workforce staffing and skill mix, which in turn hinders workforce policy and planning.

Aim: To describe the current staffing levels of the midwifery workforce in Victoria, Australia, explore workforce challenges and assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on staffing.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Comparing the views of caseload midwives working with First Nations families in an all-risk, culturally responsive model with midwives working in standard caseload models, using a cross-sectional survey design.

Problem: Little is known about midwives' views and wellbeing when working in an all-risk caseload model.

Background: Between March 2017 and December 2020 three maternity services in Victoria, Australia implemented culturally responsive caseload models for women having a First Nations baby.

Aim: Explore the views, experiences and wellbeing of midwives working in an all-risk culturally responsive model for First Nations families compared to midwives in standard caseload models in the same services.

Rates of breast feeding and associated factors for First Nations infants in a hospital with a culturally specific caseload midwifery model in Victoria, Australia: a cohort study.

Objectives: There is an urgent need to improve breast feeding rates for Australian First Nations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) infants. We explored breast feeding outcomes of women having a First Nations infant at three sites that introduced a culturally specific continuity of midwife care model.

Design: Women having a First Nations infant booking for pregnancy care between March 2017 and November 2020 were invited to participate.

Accurate identification and documentation of First Nations women and babies attending maternity services: How can we 'close the gap' if we can't get this right?

Background: Policies and strategies addressing the health inequities experienced by First Nations peoples are critical to ensuring the gap in outcomes between First Nations and non-Indigenous peoples is closed. The identification of First Nations peoples is vital to enable the delivery of culturally safe and sensitive health care. Complete and accurate health data are essential for funding and evaluation of such initiatives.

Factors associated with breastfeeding initiation and maintenance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australia: A systematic review and narrative analysis.

Background: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter referred to as Aboriginal) women breastfeed at lower rates than non-Aboriginal women. Little is known about factors associated with breastfeeding specific to Aboriginal women and infants.

Aim: Determine the protective and risk factors associated with breastfeeding for Aboriginal women in Australia.

Translating evidence into practice: Implementing culturally safe continuity of midwifery care for First Nations women in three maternity services in Victoria, Australia.

Background: Strategies to improve outcomes for Australian First Nations mothers and babies are urgently needed. Caseload midwifery, where women have midwife-led continuity throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the early postnatal period, is associated with substantially better perinatal health outcomes, but few First Nations women receive it. We assessed the capacity of four maternity services in Victoria, Australia, to implement, embed, and sustain a culturally responsive caseload midwifery service.

Evaluating the impact of a maternity and neonatal emergencies education programme in Australian regional and rural health services on clinician knowledge and confidence: a pre-test post-test study.

Introduction: Almost 78 000 women gave birth in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 2019. While most births occurred in metropolitan Melbourne and large regional centres, a significant proportion of women birthed in rural services. In late 2016, to support clinicians to recognise and respond to clinical deterioration, the Victorian government mandated provision of an emergency training programme, called Maternity and Newborn Emergencies (MANE), to rural and regional maternity services across the state.

First-time mothers' experiences of receiving proactive telephone-based peer support for breastfeeding in Australia: a qualitative study.

Background: The RUBY randomised controlled trial was found to be effective in promoting breastfeeding continuation, in the setting of a high income country, through a program of proactive telephone-based peer support in the first 6 months postpartum. This paper explores women's experiences of receiving the peer support intervention in the RUBY trial.

Methods: Ten in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted between December 2015 and November 2016 in Metropolitan Melbourne, and regional Victoria, Australia.

Breastfeeding rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australia: a systematic review and narrative analysis.

Background: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (referred to hereafter as Aboriginal) women breastfeed at lower rates than non-Aboriginal women, and rates vary across and within Aboriginal populations.

Aim: To determine rates of breastfeeding initiation and maintenance and compare individually collected survey data with existing routinely collected state and national breastfeeding data for Aboriginal women.

Methods: CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane library were searched for peer-reviewed literature published between 1995 and 2021.

Implementing a successful proactive telephone breastfeeding peer support intervention: volunteer recruitment, training, and intervention delivery in the RUBY randomised controlled trial.

Background: The RUBY randomised controlled trial demonstrated the benefit of proactive telephone peer support in promoting breastfeeding continuation in a setting with high breastfeeding initiation, where typically this is difficult to achieve. This paper describes the implementation and delivery of the peer support intervention with a focus on recruitment, training, and support of peer volunteers, and includes a description of the key components of the calls.

Methods: Data collection occurred between December 2012 and June 2016 in Melbourne, Australia.

Women's experiences of infant feeding support: Findings from a cross-sectional survey in Victoria, Australia.

Objective: To evaluate new mothers' experiences of infant feeding support.

Design: A postal survey developed for this study was sent to all new mothers in ten local government areas in Victoria, Australia when their baby was six months of age. Questions explored infant feeding methods, feeding support services, and experiences of infant feeding support.

Perinatal outcomes of women with a disability who received pregnancy care through a specialised disability clinic in Melbourne, Australia.

Background: In Australia, it is estimated that 9.5% of women of childbearing age have a disability; however, little is known about their perinatal outcomes. Disability status is not routinely recorded in perinatal datasets.

Proactive telephone-based peer support for breastfeeding: a cross-sectional survey of women's experiences of receiving support in the RUBY randomised controlled trial.

Objective: The Ringing Up about Breastfeeding earlY (RUBY) randomised controlled trial (RCT) of proactive telephone-based peer support for breastfeeding found that infants of women allocated to the intervention were more likely to be receiving breast milk at 6 months of age than those receiving usual care. This study explores women's experiences of receiving the RUBY peer support intervention.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Breastfeeding peer support by telephone in the RUBY randomised controlled trial: A qualitative exploration of volunteers' experiences.

Background: There is growing evidence that peer support programs may be effective in supporting breastfeeding mothers. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) (the RUBY study) that tested peer support in the Australian context found that infants of first-time mothers who received proactive telephone peer support were more likely to be receiving breastmilk at six months of age.

Methods: This qualitative sub-study of the RUBY RCT explores the experiences and views of peer volunteers who delivered the intervention.

Using the Kirkpatrick Model to evaluate the Maternity and Neonatal Emergencies (MANE) programme: Background and study protocol.

Introduction: Over 310 000 women gave birth in Australia in 2016, with approximately 80 000 births in the state of Victoria. While most of these births occur in metropolitan Melbourne and other large regional centres, a significant proportion of Victorian women birth in local rural health services. The Victorian state government recently mandated the provision of a maternal and neonatal emergency training programme, called Maternal and Newborn Emergencies (MANE), to rural and regional maternity service providers across the state.

Maternal and perinatal outcomes by planned place of birth in Australia 2000 - 2012: a linked population data study.

Objective: To compare perinatal and maternal outcomes for Australian women with uncomplicated pregnancies according to planned place of birth, that is, in hospital labour wards, birth centres or at home.

Design: A population-based retrospective design, linking and analysing routinely collected electronic data. Analysis comprised χ tests and binary logistic regression for categorical data, yielding adjusted ORs.

Exploring the effect of the 'Growing Together' parenting education kit on early parenting - study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Significant gaps exist in education for prospective and new parents, especially for some of the most vulnerable families. Prospective parents would like more information during pregnancy to prepare them for parenting, and need access to trusted and quality information. The Royal Women's Hospital (the Women's) in Melbourne, Australia, a large tertiary referral maternity hospital, developed a parenting education kit known as 'Growing Together'.

Proactive Peer (Mother-to-Mother) Breastfeeding Support by Telephone (Ringing up About Breastfeeding Early [RUBY]): A Multicentre, Unblinded, Randomised Controlled Trial.

Background: Breastfeeding rates are suboptimal internationally, and many infants are not receiving any breast milk at all by six months of age. Few interventions increase breastfeeding duration, particularly where there is relatively high initiation. The effect of proactive peer (mother-to-mother) support has been found to increase breastfeeding in some contexts but not others, but if it is shown to be effective would be a potentially sustainable model in many settings.

'I need help': Reasons new and re-engaging callers contact the PANDA-Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia National Helpline.

In Australia, the PANDA-Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia National Helpline (the Helpline) offers support to callers impacted by emotional health challenges in the perinatal period. Callers receive counselling from professional staff and peer support from volunteers. An understanding of factors that contribute to callers' experiences of emotional distress, as well as potential barriers and facilitators to help-seeking, can be used to inform future service design and delivery.

Women's views and experiences of publicly-funded homebirth programs in Victoria, Australia: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: It is critical women's voices are heard if there is to be more widespread implementation of midwifery-led continuity models. Publicly-funded homebirth is one such model, yet there has been limited systematic evaluation from the women's perspective.

Aim: Examine women's experiences of and views about the two publicly-funded homebirth programs in Victoria, Australia.