Changes to provision of childbirth education during COVID-19 and its implications for ongoing service delivery - An Australian Survey.

Background: Childbirth and parenting education (CBPE) programs provide participants with information about pregnancy and labour and have a multitude of positive health impacts. During COVID-19, many CBPE classes ceased or transitioned to an online format, significantly impacting pregnant women across Australia. Little is known about the provision and delivery of CBPE in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of CBPE educators and hospital managers, regarding its impact on staff and implications for ongoing service delivery.

Do women have a choice when it comes to fetal monitoring? Perceptions of information provided and choice of fetal monitoring in Australia: A national survey.

Intro: In Australia, little research has examined how women and people participate in decision-making about types of fetal monitoring, or their perceptions of information provided by caregivers.

Methods: A national cross-sectional survey, the 'Women's experiences Of Monitoring Baby' (WOMB) Study, explored women's experiences of intrapartum fetal monitoring. This study reports on selected results.

Identifying common conditions of pregnancy for women, including women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, at an Australian hospital: A survey.

Problem: Research that explores the prevalence and range of treatments sought for common conditions of pregnancy is limited, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women.

Background: During pregnancy, physical and psychological conditions affect participation in the home, workplace, and community. However, treatment options may be limited, particularly for CALD women.

Humanising childbirth - Maternity acupressure training for healthcare providers at the Fernandez Foundation Hospitals, Hyderabad, India. Evaluation of program delivery in one region of India.

Background: Internationally, traditional medicine approaches are used to support humanised childbirth practices. Labour support issues in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), include limited resources, staffing, and escalating pharmaceutical interventions. There is a strong interest in evidence-based acupressure programs, however, training and experience to implement them is limited.

The First Baby Study: What women would like to have known about first childbirth. A mixed-methods study.

Background: Although prenatal care providers aim to prepare women for first childbirth, little research has explored retrospectively what birthing people would like to have known before first childbirth.

Aim: To describe women's reports of what they would like to have known before first childbirth but feel they were not told.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the First Baby Study, a large prospective cohort study conducted in Pennsylvania, USA.

Tending to the machine: The impact of intrapartum fetal surveillance on women in Australia.

Qualitative research about women and birthing people's experiences of fetal monitoring during labour and birth is scant. Labour and birth is often impacted by wearable or invasive monitoring devices, however, most published research about fetal monitoring is focused on the wellbeing of the fetus. This manuscript is derived from a larger mixed methods study, 'WOmen's Experiences of Monitoring Baby (The WOMB Study)', aiming to increase understanding of the experiences of women and birthing people in Australia, of being monitored; and about the information they received about fetal monitoring devices during pregnancy.

Antenatal education - Putting research into practice: A guideline review.

Problem: Antenatal care guidelines used in Australia are inconsistent in their recommendations for childbirth and parenting education (CBPE) classes for preparation of women and parents for pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines in maternity care are developed to assist healthcare practitioners and consumers to make decisions about appropriate care. The benefit of such guidelines relies on the translation and quality of the evidence contained within them.

The outcomes for women planning a VBAC at a private hospital in Australia.

Background: Rates of cesarean birth (CBs) are steadily increasing and account for 36.7% of all births in New South Wales (NSW), with primary cesareans driving the increase. NSW Health guidelines recommend women attempt a vaginal birth after a previous CB (VBAC); however, rates of VBAC are decreasing, particularly within the private hospital setting.

Women's experiences of changes to childbirth and parenting education in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: The birth in the time of COVID-19 (BITTOC) study.

Objective: As changes to Childbirth and Parenting Education (CBPE) classes during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unexplored in Australia, our objective was to understand how changes to CBPE in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on women's birth and postnatal experiences.

Methods: Survey responses were received from 3172 women (1343 pregnant and 1829 postnatal) for the 'Birth In The Time Of Covid-19 (BITTOC)' survey (August 2020 to February 2021) in Australia. One of the survey questions asked women if they had experienced changes to CBPE class schedules or format during the pandemic, with a follow up open ended text box inviting women to comment on the impact of these changes.

How Do Anxiety and Relationship Factors Influence the Application of Childbirth Education Strategies During Labor and Birth: A Bowen Family Systems Perspective.

The effectiveness of childbirth education (CBE) has long been debated with studies showing contradictory outcomes for mothers and babies. Understanding how what is learned in CBE is translated into practice during labor and birth is an area that requires investigation as this may be a mediating factor in its effectiveness. Bowen family system theory's concept of differentiation of self, the ability to be guided by and to act from one's beliefs and values, is an organizing principle that may affect how relational factors affect the use and application of CBE at the time of birth.

"You are either with me on this or not": A meta-ethnography of the influence birth partners and care-providers have on coping strategies learned in childbirth education and used by women during labour.

Background: Childbirth education, which includes providing information and practical techniques to help manage childbirth, aims to support women and their birth partners. It is unknown how birth partners and care providers influence the utilisation of childbirth education information and techniques during women's labour and birth.

Aim: To explore the literature that investigates the influence that birth partners and care-providers have on the application of childbirth education information and techniques used by women during childbirth.

The associations between women who are immigrants, refugees, or asylum seekers, access to universal healthcare, and the timely uptake of antenatal care: A systematic review.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that antenatal care (ANC) commence before 12 weeks' gestation to reduce the risk of obstetric and perinatal complications. Immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers are at higher risk for late or non-initiation of ANC, and exclusion from universal healthcare (UHC) may be a contributing factor.

Aims: The aims were to synthesise evidence regarding uptake of ANC and to examine if this is associated with inadequate access to UHC and to evaluate the link between ANC and the risk of pregnancy outcomes in the immigrant, refugee and asylum seeker population.

Complementary medicines and therapies in clinical guidelines on pregnancy care: A systematic review.

Background: There is a need for evidence-based guidance on complementary medicines and therapies (CMT) use during pregnancy due to high prevalence of use and lack of guidance on the balance of benefit and harms.

Aim: Evaluate the extent to which current clinical practice guidelines relevant to Australian healthcare professionals make clear and unambiguous recommendations about CMT use in pregnancy, and synthesise these recommendations.

Methods: The search included EMBASE, PubMed, the National Health and Medical Research Council's Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal, and websites of Australian maternity hospitals and professional/not-for-profit organisations for published guidelines on pregnancy care.

Probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate existing evidence for the use of probiotics in preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) in adults.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Data Sources: We performed a literature search of the electronic databases CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, MEDLINE (Ovid) and Web of Science from database inception to May 2021 as well as hand searching of trial registries and reference lists of related reviews.

The AEDUCATE Collaboration. Comprehensive antenatal education birth preparation programmes to reduce the rates of caesarean section in nulliparous women. Protocol for an individual participant data prospective meta-analysis.

Introduction: Rates of medical interventions in normal labour and birth are increasing. This prospective meta-analysis (PMA) proposes to assess whether the addition of a comprehensive multicomponent birth preparation programme reduces caesarean section (CS) in nulliparous women compared with standard hospital care. Additionally, do participant characteristics, intervention components or hospital characteristics modify the effectiveness of the programme? METHODS AND ANALYSIS: : women with singleton vertex pregnancies, no planned caesarean section (CS) or epidural.

How often are patients with clinically apparent inguinal hernias referred to a surgeon accompanied with an ultrasound? A prospective multicentre study.

Objectives This study estimated the frequency of ultrasounds ordered for clinically obvious inguinal hernias in patients referred to surgeons and evaluated the clinical value of ultrasonography for this patient population. Methods The present study was a prospective diagnostic and therapeutic impact study conducted in district, rural and tertiary referral hospitals in Sydney, Hawkesbury and Wagga Wagga, Australia. The study included adult patients (≥18 years of age) who had been referred to one of the participating surgeons for an elective inguinal hernia repair.

Acupuncture or acupressure for pain management during labour.

Background: Many women would like to avoid pharmacological or invasive methods of pain management in labour and this may contribute towards the popularity of complementary methods of pain management. This review examined evidence about the use of acupuncture and acupressure for pain management in labour. This is an update of a review last published in 2011.

Using Forbidden Points in Pregnancy: Adverse Outcomes and Quality of Evidence in Randomized Controlled Trials-A Systematic Narrative Review.

Pregnancy is a complex physical and hormonal condition. Many women experience back and pelvic pain, reflux, and headaches during pregnancy. There has been a significant rise in the popularity of acupuncture for pain conditions in pregnancy, wherein nonpharmacologic options are important.

Relaxation techniques for pain management in labour.

Background: Many women would like to avoid pharmacological or invasive methods of pain management in labour and this may contribute to the popularity of complementary methods of pain management. This review examined currently available evidence on the use of relaxation therapies for pain management in labour. This is an update of a review first published in 2011.

Massage, reflexology and other manual methods for pain management in labour.

Background: Many women would like to avoid pharmacological or invasive methods of pain management in labour, and this may contribute towards the popularity of complementary methods of pain management. This review examined the evidence currently available on manual methods, including massage and reflexology, for pain management in labour. This review is an update of the review first published in 2012.

Cost analysis of the CTLB Study, a multitherapy antenatal education programme to reduce routine interventions in labour.

Objective: To assess whether the multitherapy antenatal education 'CTLB' (Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth) Study programme leads to net cost savings.

Design: Cost analysis of the CTLB Study, using analysis of outcomes and hospital funding data.

Methods: We take a payer perspective and use Australian Refined Diagnosis-Related Group (AR-DRG) cost data to estimate the potential savings per woman to the payer (government or private insurer).

Planned early birth versus expectant management for women with preterm prelabour rupture of membranes prior to 37 weeks' gestation for improving pregnancy outcome.

Background: Current management of preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes (PPROM) involves either initiating birth soon after PPROM or, alternatively, adopting a 'wait and see' approach (expectant management). It is unclear which strategy is most beneficial for mothers and their babies. This is an update of a Cochrane review published in 2010 (Buchanan 2010).