Influence of organizational factors on the offer and success rate of a trial of labor after cesarean section in Belgium: an ecological study.

Background: Trial of Labor After Cesarean is an important strategy for reducing the overall rate of cesarean delivery. Offering the option of vaginal delivery to a woman with a history of cesarean section requires the ability to manage a potential uterine rupture quickly and effectively. This requires infrastructure and organization of the maternity unit so that the decision-to-delivery interval is as short as possible when uterine rupture is suspected.

Maternal satisfaction with reduced postnatal length of stay in Brussels: evidence from the KOZI&Home program.

Background: Reducing the length of stay (LOS) after childbirth is a trend, including cost savings, a more family-centered approach and lower risk for nosocomial infection. Evaluating the impact of reduced LOS is important to improve the outcomes of care, which include maternal satisfaction. The aim of this study was to compare the maternal satisfaction, before and after the reduced LOS.

Implications of a Reduced Length of Postpartum Hospital Stay on Maternal and Neonatal Readmissions, an Observational Study.

Introduction: Reducing the Length Of postpartum Stay (LOS) is associated with lower hospital costs, a major reason for initiating federal projects in Belgium. Disadvantages following the reduction of LOS are the risks of maternal and neonatal readmissions. This study compares readmissions with or without reduced LOS, by introducing the KOZI&Home program in the university hospital Brussels.

Learning experiences of final-year student midwives in labor wards: A qualitative exploratory study.

Introduction: Clinical placements are an integral part of midwifery education and are crucial for achieving professional competencies. Although students' experiences on placements have been shown to play a meaningful role in their learning, they have received scant attention in the literature. The aim of this paper is to describe the learning experiences of final-year student midwives in labor wards within the Brussels metropolitan region, Belgium.

The experiences of last-year student midwives with High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation training: A qualitative descriptive study.

Background: Simulation training is a powerful and evidence-based teaching method in healthcare. It allows students to develop essential competences that are often difficult to achieve during internships. High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation exposes them to real-life scenarios in a safe environment.

Inter-professional Perinatal Simulation training: A valuable educational model to improve competencies amongst student midwives in Brussels, Belgium.

Simulation training is a powerful and evidence-based teaching method for students and healthcare professionals. The described educational model of Inter-professional Perinatal Simulation training is the result of a collaborative project with the Erasmus University College Brussels, the Medical School of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the University Hospital Brussels. This model enhances student midwives to acquire competencies in all fields of midwifery according to national and European legislation and to the International Confederation of Midwives Global Standards for Midwifery Education.

Determinants of folic acid use in a multi-ethnic population of pregnant women: a cross-sectional study.

Aims: To investigate the possible differences in folic acid use and to identify the determinants of antenatal folic acid use among multi-ethnic pregnant women.

Methods: Three hundred and fifty pregnant women participated in this cross-sectional study in a university hospital in Brussels, Belgium. A questionnaire was used to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics and folic acid use.

Specific congenital malformations after exposure to cyclophosphamide, epirubicin and 5-fluorouracil during the first trimester of pregnancy.

The treatment of pregnant women with chemotherapeutic drugs leads to congenital malformations in 10-20% of newborn children. We present a case of an ongoing 19-week-long pregnancy which was diagnosed in a 39-year-old woman who was being treated with CEF (cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, 5-fluorouracil) chemotherapy for an infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast. After termination of the pregnancy, subsequent examination of the fetus revealed micrognathia and bilateral malformations of the hands and feet.

Nonsurgical treatment of pyomyoma in the postpartum period.

Background: Only 13 cases of pyomyoma related to pregnancy have been described since 1945. Treatment consists of hysterectomy, which exposes critically ill patients to operative risks and induces infertility.

Cases: Three cases of pyomyoma in the postpartum period are described.

Enterobius vermicularis infection with tuboovarian abscess and peritonitis occurring during pregnancy.

Background: Extraintestinal Enterobius vermicularis infections are rare but may occasionally affect the female genital tract. Although mostly asymptomatic or causing minor clinical problems, they may lead to severe infectious complications.

Methods: Case report and review of the pertinent English language literature.