Addressing Preconception Behavior Change Through Mobile Phone Apps: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Positive health behavior changes before pregnancy can optimize perinatal outcomes for mothers, babies, and future generations. Women are often motivated to positively change their behavior in preparation for pregnancy to enhance their health and well-being. Mobile phone apps may provide an opportunity to deliver public health interventions during the preconception period.

Measuring women's empowerment during the perinatal period in high income countries: A scoping review of instruments used.

Empowerment is acknowledged as a process facilitating those who are less powerful to be engaged in their problem identification, decision making and actions to gain control over their life. This is an important goal for women during the perinatal period in their transition to motherhood. A concept analysis of women's empowerment during the perinatal period found that psychological and social dimensions play a role in women's perinatal empowerment and identified several defining attributes.

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.

A Bayesian model to estimate the cutoff value of TSH for management of preterm birth.

Background: Determining a thyroid hormone cutoff value in pregnancy is challenging issue and several approaches have been introduced to optimize a utility function. We aimed to estimate the cutoff value of TSH using Bayesian method for prediction of preterm-birth.

Methods: This study was a secondary-analysis of the population-based data collected prospectively within the framework of the Tehran Thyroid and Pregnancy Study.

Volunteering in an emergency project in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis: the experience of Italian midwives.

Objectives: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Region of Lombardy in Italy and its Regional Emergency Service (Azienda Regionale Emergenza Urgenza [AREU]) created a dedicated 24/7 free phone service to help the Lombard population. After an invitation from their professional order, local midwives collaborated on the AREU project as volunteers to address the needs of women from antenatal to postnatal periods. The aim of this article was to explore the experiences of midwives who volunteered in the AREU project.

Perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A qualitative study in Kaski district, Western Nepal.

Burgeoning morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 pandemic including the peaks in outbreaks due to different variants have attracted global attention. Although the development and rolling out of vaccines have been impressive, low- and middle-income countries suffer from a double burden: (1) lack of adequate vaccines; and (2) low vaccine uptake (vaccine hesitancy). The main objective of this study was to explore perceptions around COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy among urban and rural population in Western Nepal.

Women's Birth Beliefs During Pregnancy and Postpartum in the Netherlands: A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Women and care providers increasingly regard childbirth as a medical process, resulting in high use of medical interventions, which could negatively affect a woman's childbirth experience. Women's birth beliefs may be key to understanding the decisions they make and the acceptance of medical interventions in childbirth. In this study we explore women's beliefs about birth as a natural and medical process and the factors that are associated with women's birth beliefs.

Anxiety, stress, and depression in Australian pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross sectional study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid responses by health services to suppress transmission of the virus.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate predictors of anxiety, stress and depression in Australian pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic including continuity of carer and the role of social support.

Methods: Women aged 18 years and over in their third trimester of pregnancy were invited to complete an online survey between July 2020 and January 2021.

"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.

Could a decision support tool be the key to supporting choice for women regarding place of birth?

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of using an innovative decision aid, MyBirthplace, to facilitate shared decision-making regarding place of birth.

Design: A quasi-experimental study comparing pre-test and post-test responses from participants who had access to the intervention.

Setting: A large urban hospital in the south of England.

The role of birth plans for shared decision-making around birth choices of pregnant women in maternity care: A scoping review.

Background: Birth plans can be used to facilitate shared decision-making in childbirth. A birth plan is a document reflecting women's preferences for birth, which they discuss with their maternity care provider.

Aim: This scoping review aims to synthesize current findings on the role of birth plans for shared decision-making around birth choices of pregnant women in maternity care.

Effective communication: Core to promoting respectful maternity care for disabled women.

Objective: Previous research highlights that disabled women have less choice, control and respect of their dignity during pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. The experience of dignity and respect during pregnancy and childbirth for those with physical and sensory disability in the UK and Ireland is explored.

Design, Setting And Participants: Narrative, semi-structured telephone and Skype interviews were conducted with ten disabled women in the UK and Ireland.

Barriers and Facilitators Associated with the Adoption of and Adherence to a Mediterranean Style Diet in Adults: A Systematic Review of Published Observational and Qualitative Studies.

The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has been linked with physical and mental health benefits. Previous research, however, suggests that adoption and adherence to a Mediterranean diet might be difficult for people who live outside of the Mediterranean region. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the factors that influence adoption and adherence to a Mediterranean style diet in adults aged 18 years old and over, as identified in published observational and qualitative studies.

Knowledge and skills used for clinical decision-making on childbirth interventions: A qualitative study among midwives in the Netherlands.

Introduction: Appropriate use of interventions in maternity care is a worldwide issue. Midwifery-led models of care are associated with more efficient use of resources, fewer medical interventions, and improved outcomes. However, the use of interventions varies considerably between midwives.

Integrating women's voices in quality improvement for maternity care: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Improving the quality of maternity care is high on the national agenda in the Netherlands. One aspect gaining significant attention is integrating women's experiences - as users of maternity care - in this quality improvement. The aim of this study was to gain deeper insights into how maternity care professionals in Dutch Maternity Care Collaborations integrate women's voices into quality improvement as part of integrated maternity care and what role midwives can have in this.

The effects of social support on depression and anxiety in the perinatal period: A mixed-methods systematic review.

Background: The social support offered to women in the perinatal period can buffer against depression and anxiety. The sources and types of support that reduce maternal levels of depression and anxiety are not well understood.

Aims: To investigate the effects of structural and functional support on depression and anxiety in women in the perinatal period, and to explore the experiences of women around support during the perinatal period.

Women's decision-making autonomy in Dutch maternity care.

Background: A positive childbirth experience is an important outcome of maternity care. A significant component of a positive birth experience is the ability to exercise autonomy in decision-making. In this study, we explore women's reports of their autonomy during conversations about their care with maternity care practitioners during pregnancy and childbirth.

A survey of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and Depression among Flood Affected Populations in Kerala, India.

Background: Globally, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses following a disaster. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between the socio-economic and flood exposure factors with PTSD, depression and anxiety among the flood-affected populations in Kerala, India.

Methods: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted from November 2019 to January 2020 in Kozhikode district of Kerala, India.

What strategies facilitate & support the successful transition of newly qualified midwives into practice: An integrative literature review.

Objective: The aim of this review was to identify strategies that facilitate newly qualified midwives to transition successfully from midwifery student to confident, competent practitioner.

Design: Integrative literature review.

Data Sources: The following databases were accessed: CINAHL complete, Medline complete, APA PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), Scopus and Google Scholar.

Does midwifery continuity of care make a difference to women with perinatal mental health conditions: A cohort study, from Australia.

Background: Perinatal mental health (PMH) conditions are associated with an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes including preterm birth. Midwifery caseload group practice (continuity of care, MCP) improves perinatal outcomes including a 24 % reduction of preterm birth. The evidence is unclear whether MCP has the same effect for women with perinatal mental health conditions.