Rwanda's success in advancing midwifery education: a blueprint of a sustainable, nationally driven curriculum standardization.

The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) defines and sets the Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice and provides a framework for developing and reviewing midwifery curricula. This framework ensures that pre-service midwifery education designed for students leads to the demonstration of the required midwifery specific competencies. The development of the ICM competencies in 2024 confirms the timeliness of the effort of Rwanda to update its national curricula.

The understanding of dynamic birth positions for women in labor and childbirth - A hybrid concept analysis.

Problem And Background: The assessment of advantages and drawbacks associated with varying birthing positions has predominantly centered around medical or technical considerations and few studies have accounted for a woman's ability to attune to her bodily instincts during labor and birth. The objective of this study was to define the concept of dynamic birth positions and its significance within the birthing process.

Methods: This hybrid concept analysis consisted of three phases: theoretical, fieldwork, and analytical.

Nurses' perceptions of caring behaviors at referral hospitals in Ethiopia: A mixed-methods approach.

Background: Caring plays a vital role in nursing and serves as an indicator of quality. Nurse caring behaviors are directed towards patients' safety and wellbeing. Nurses' perceptions of caring behaviors are affected by different factors.

Initiated Breastfeeding and Physiological Patterns in Newborn Infants When Reunited With Mother After Separation Due to Elective Cesarean Birth.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two caregiving models on full-term healthy infants' wakefulness, rooting and sucking reflexes, initiation of breastfeeding, and physiological parameters when reunited with their mothers after a mother-infant separation of 130 min after elective cesarean birth.

Methods: Ninety-five mother-infant pairs participated in a randomized controlled trial, in which full-term healthy infants were allocated to be either dressed in their mothers' arms (n = 56) or skin-to-skin with their mother (n = 39) when reunited with the mother within 130 min after cesarean birth. Data were collected by the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) to assess the infants' wakefulness and prebreastfeeding behaviors.

Midwife-led quality improvement: Increasing the use of evidence-based birth practices in Uganda.

Background: Addressing the evidence-to-practice gap in midwifery is vital for improving maternal and newborn health outcomes. Despite the potential of involving midwives in quality improvement interventions to address this gap, such interventions are understudied. In a Ugandan urban hospital, midwifery practices with a significant evidence-to-practice gap have been identified as areas for clinical improvement.

Development of a Quality Assurance Assessment Tool to meet accreditation standards for midwifery education: A Delphi study.

Background: Ensuring the quality of midwifery education is critical for producing a qualified and competent midwifery workforce for sexual, reproductive, maternal, and newborn care services. While global standards advocate for quality enhancement and accreditation systems, challenges persist, particularly in low-income countries like Bangladesh.

Aim: To validate and culturally adapt a Quality Assurance Assessment tool aligned with global midwifery education standards for application in Bangladesh.

One size does not fit all: Perspectives from Swedish midwives on fetal movement counselling.

Problem: Migration continues to play a role in determining health outcomes related to pregnancy and childbirth in Sweden.

Background: Migrant women have, compared to Swedish-born women, increased risks of adverse birth outcomes. Previous research suggests that migrant women seek care for decreased fetal movements less than Swedish-born women.

Perceived associations between the menstrual cycle and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A qualitative interview study exploring lived experiences.

Background: The research gap regarding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in people who were assigned female at birth has led to a lack of knowledge and adequate approaches in clinical practice, as well as diagnosis processes. Recent studies report potential associations between reproductive hormones and ADHD, but existing research remains scarce.

Aim: This study aims to explore the experiences of people who perceive an association between their menstrual cycle and their ADHD symptoms.

Perceptions of caring behaviors: Experiences of nurses in Ethiopia.

Caring is a universal phenomenon that influences nurse-patient interactions and feelings, forming the foundation of the nursing profession. How nurses perceive and experience caring in low-income settings is not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore Ethiopian nurses' perceptions and experiences of caring using a qualitative descriptive design.

Quality midwifery care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: A focus group study with midwives, nurses, and midwifery educators.

Introduction: Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in the development of the midwifery profession. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on healthcare systems worldwide, including those related to reproductive, perinatal, and maternal health. Given the recent advancements in the midwifery field in Bangladesh, it is crucial to examine the pandemic's impact on existing barriers and the capacity of midwifery professionals to deliver high-quality care.

Experience and perceptions of healthcare providers on clinical management and care of near-miss infants: a qualitative content analysis.

Introduction: Neonatal Near Miss (NNM) refers to neonates with severe complications who almost died but survived immediately after birth. In Ethiopia, the prevalence of NNM has been assessed using a validated Neonatal Near-Miss Assessment Scale. However, understanding the experiences and perceptions of healthcare providers in the clinical management and care of NNM infants remains unexplored.

Cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2 in Karnataka state, India.

Background: Women's birthing experience is a sensitive indicator of the quality of childbirth care and can impact the physical and mental health of both women and their neonates. Negligible evidence exists on Indian women's birth experiences and-to the best of authors' knowledge-no questionnaire has been tested in India for measuring women's birthing experiences. This study aimed to test the construct validity and reliability of the Kannada-translated Revised Childbirth Experience Questionnaire.

Putting co-creation into practice: lessons learned from developing a midwife-led quality improvement intervention.

Background: Integrating evidence-based midwifery practices improves healthcare quality for women and newborns, but an evidence-to-practice gap exists. Co-created quality improvement initiatives led by midwives could bridge this gap, prevent resource waste and ensure intervention relevance. However, how to co-create a midwife-led quality improvement intervention has not been scientifically explored.

Facilitators influencing midwives to leadership positions in policy, education and practice: A systematic integrative literature review.

The development of midwives as leaders is a crucial step towards achieving equality in sexual, reproductive, maternal, and neonatal health, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). However, many midwives work only to implement policies made by others rather than being drivers of policy changes. Little is known and researched about why midwives are not involved in decision and policymaking related to sexual, reproductive, maternal, and neonatal health.

Miscommunication influences how women act when fetal movements decrease an interview study with Swedish Somali migrant women.

Objective: To explore how Swedish Somali migrant women perceive fetal movements, process information about fetal movements, and take actions if decreased fetal activity occurs.

Design: A qualitative study based on individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analysed using content analysis.

Costs and intermediate outcomes for the implementation of evidence-based practices of midwifery under a MIDWIZE framework in an urban health facility in Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: Three evidence-based midwife-led care practices: dynamic birth positions (DBP), immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) with zero separation between mother and newborn, and delayed cord clamping (DCC), were implemented in four sub-Saharan African countries after an internet-based capacity building program for midwifery leadership in quality improvement (QI). Knowledge on costs of this QI initiative can inform resource mobilization for scale up and sustainability.

Methods: We estimated the costs and intermediate outcomes from the implementation of the three evidence-based practices under the midwife-led care (MIDWIZE) framework in a single facility in Kenya through a pre- and post-test implementation design.

Patients' perceptions of caring behaviors at referral hospitals in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional survey.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine patients' perceptions of nurse caring behaviors and to identify factors associated with these perceptions.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at three referral hospitals in Ethiopia. A consecutive sample of male and female patients ( = 652, response rate 98.

Maternal health leaders' perceptions of barriers to midwife-led care in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Somalia, and Uganda.

Objective: To identify and examine barriers to midwife-led care in Eastern Africa and how these barriers can be reduced DESIGN: A qualitative inductive study with online focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews using content analysis SETTING: The study examines midwife-led care in Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda -five African countries with an unmet need for midwives and a need to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes.

Participants: Twenty-five participants with a health care profession background and current position as a maternal and child health leader from one of the five study countries.

Findings: The findings demonstrate barriers to midwife-led care connected to organisational structures, traditional hierarchies, gender disparities, and inadequate leadership.

Facility-based maternal deaths: Their prevalence, causes and underlying circumstances. A mixed method study from the national referral hospital of Somaliland.

Objective: Somaliland has one of the highest rates of maternal deaths in the world. An estimated 732 women die for every 100,000 live births. This study aims to identify the prevalence of facility-based maternal deaths, the causes and their underlying circumstances by interviewing relatives and health care providers at the main referral hospital.

Midwife Educators' perceptions of the efficacy of the Objective Structured clinical assessment of life-saving interventions - a qualitative interview study in Bangladesh.

Introduction: Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) is a way of evaluating students or clinicians in how they are carrying out their duties. The aim of this study was to examine how midwifery educators in Bangladesh perceived using OSCA as an assessment device in midwifery education for student performance in life-saving midwifery interventions.

Method: Individual interviews were conducted with 47 academic midwives and clinical midwives using purposive sampling at 38 education institutions in Bangladesh.

Effect of fetal malposition, primiparous, and premature rupture of membrane on Neonatal Near miss mediated by grade three meconium-stained amniotic fluids and duration of the active first stage of labor: Mediation analysis.

Background: In many low-income countries, including Ethiopia, neonatal mortality remains a major concern. For every newborn that dies, many more neonates survived (near-miss neonates) the first 28 days after birth from life-threatening conditions. The generation of evidence on neonatal near-miss determinants could be a critical step in reducing neonatal mortality rates.

The commitment to a midwifery centre care model in Bangladesh: An interview study with midwives, educators and students.

Background: Midwifery-led care is a key factor in reducing maternal and new-born mortality globally. In Bangladesh, only a third of births are attended by professionals and almost 70% of births occur outside healthcare facilities. Midwifery is a relatively new profession in Bangladesh and a midwifery centre care model has only recently been introduced.

Being an Elderly Person Living in Metropolitan Cities of Northwestern Ethiopia: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study.

Background: As people grow old, they pass through various life courses. Thus, it is important to realize aging in the context of each of these stages, as aging is not only physiological and psychological processes. To understand the lifeworld experiences of the phenomenon "being an elderly person" from the individual perspective was important, in this study, within day-to-day life in Metropolitan cities of northwestern Ethiopia.

Satisfaction with life and associated factors among elderly people living in two cities in northwest Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the level of life satisfaction and identify associated factors among elderly people living in two cities in northwest Ethiopia.

Design: Community-based cross-sectional study.

Setting: Two cities in northwest Ethiopia (Gondar and Bahir Dar).