Experiences, Beliefs, and Values Influencing Midwives' Attitudes Toward the Use of Childbirth Interventions.

Introduction: Intervention rates in perinatal care vary between and within countries, without populations' characteristics as a full explanation. Research suggests that one factor in this variation might be the attitudes of perinatal health care providers. Systematic knowledge on the background of midwives' attitudes and how this influences the use of interventions is limited.

Benefits and risks of spontaneous pushing versus directed pushing during the second stage of labour among women without epidural analgesia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the benefits and risks of spontaneous pushing and directed pushing used by labouring women without epidural analgesia during the second stage labour.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Randomised controlled trials published in PubMed/ MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, psycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and four Chinese databases were systematically searched from their inception to December, 2021.

Towards a cervical cancer-free future: women's healthcare decision making and cervical cancer screening uptake in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: We investigated the association between women's healthcare decision making and cervical cancer screening uptake in sub-Saharan Africa.

Design: Secondary data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of six countries in sub-Saharan Africa were used. We employed multilevel binary logistic regression modelling.

Midwives' experience of personal/professional risk when providing continuity of care to women who decline recommendations: A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

Problem: Women's autonomous choices in pursuit of physiological childbirth are sometimes limited by the midwife's willingness to support those choices, particularly when those choices are contrary to recommendations or outside of guidelines.

Background: Women's reasons for making such choices have received some research attention, however there is a paucity of research examining this phenomenon from the perspective of caseloading midwives' and their perception of personal/professional risk in such situations.

Aim: To synthesise qualitative research which includes the voices of midwives working in a continuity of carer model who perceive any kind of risk to themselves when caring for women who decline current established recommendations.

Midwifery continuity of care for women with complex pregnancies in Australia: An integrative review.

Background: All women require access to quality maternity care. Continuity of midwifery care can enhance women's experiences of childbearing and is associated with positive outcomes for women and infants. Much research on these models has been conducted with women with uncomplicated pregnancies; less is known about outcomes for women with complexities.

Women's view on shared decision making and autonomy in childbirth: cohort study of Belgian women.

Background: Health care providers have an important role to share evidence based information and empower patients to make informed choices. Previous studies indicate that shared decision making in pregnancy and childbirth may have an important impact on a woman's birth experience. In Flemish social media, a large number of women expressed their concern about their birth experience, where they felt loss of control and limited possibilities to make their own choices.

Diet and longevity in the Blue Zones: A set-and-forget issue?

The Blue Zones (BZs) are areas of the globe inhabited by exceptionally long-lived populations. They include the island of Okinawa in Japan, the island of Ikaria in Greece, the mountain area of the island of Sardinia in Italy, and the peninsula of Nicoya in Costa Rica. Their longevity is a relatively recent phenomenon that has been progressively investigated since the dawn of this century.

Getting kicked off the program: Women's experiences of antenatal exclusion from publicly-funded homebirth in Australia.

Problem: Eligibility criteria for publicly-funded homebirth models are strict and, as such, many women who initially plan a homebirth later become excluded.

Background: Fifteen publicly-funded homebirth programs are operating in Australia, offering eligible women the opportunity to give birth at home at no cost, with the care of a hospital-employed midwife.

Aim: To explore the experiences of women who planned a publicly-funded homebirth and were later excluded due to pregnancy complications or risk factors.

Setting Preconception Care Priorities in Australia Using a Delphi Technique.

Preconception health affects fertility, pregnancy, and future health outcomes but public awareness of this is low. Our aims were to rank priorities for preconception care (PCC), develop strategies to address these priorities, and establish values to guide future work in preconception healthcare in Australia. A Delphi technique involved two rounds of online voting and mid-round workshops.

Influence of gestational weight gain on baby's birth weight in Addis Ababa, Central Ethiopia: a follow-up study.

Background: Gestational weight gain (GWG) is an important indicator of fetal well-being during pregnancy. Inadequate or excessive GWG could have undesirable effects on birth weight. However, information regarding the influence of GWG on birth weight is lacking from the Ethiopian setting.

Babies born with ambiguous genitalia: Developing an educational resource for Australian midwives.

Problem And Background: The birth of a baby with ambiguous genitalia is rare and usually unexpected. Parents often receive inconsistent language from health-professionals after the birth. Initial interaction with the birth team has long-term consequences for families with babies born with ambiguous genitalia.

Why use Appreciative Inquiry? Lessons learned during COVID-19 in a UK maternity service.

Choosing the 'right' research method is always an important decision. It affects the type of study questions that can be answered. In addition, the research method will have an impact on the participants - how much of their time it takes, whether the questions seem important to them and whether there is any benefit in taking part.

Preferences of Australian healthcare providers regarding education on long-term health after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a qualitative study.

Objectives: To explore Australian healthcare providers' (HCPs') preferred content, format and access to education regarding long-term health after hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP), in order to guide the development of education programmes.

Design And Setting: A qualitative study using a framework analysis was undertaken. Registered HCP who were practising in Australia and previously completed a survey about long-term health after HDP were invited to participate.

Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 6: Longitudinal qualitative and mixed-methods approaches for longitudinal and complex health themes in primary care research.

This article, the sixth in a series aiming to provide practical guidance for qualitative research in primary care, introduces two approaches for addressing longitudinal and complex health themes in primary care research. The first approach - longitudinal qualitative research - supports the study of change during the life course. The second approach - mixed-methods research - integrates quantitative and qualitative research to gain new insights to address the complex and multifaceted themes in primary care.

More home births during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands.

Background: The aim of this observational study was to examine whether the course of pregnancy and birth and accompanying outcomes among low-risk pregnant women changed in the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the prepandemic period.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Dutch Midwifery Case Registration System (VeCaS). Differences in the course of pregnancy and birth, and accompanying maternal and neonatal outcomes, were calculated between women pregnant during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 1 to August 3, 2020) and the prepandemic period (March 1-August 3, 2019).

The Growing Importance of Mixed-Methods Research in Health.

This paper illustrates the growing importance of mixed-methods research to many health disciplines ranging from nursing to epidemiology. Mixed-methods approaches requires not only the skills of the individual quantitative and qualitative methods but also a skill set to bring two methods/datasets/findings together in the most appropriate way. Health researchers need to pay careful attention to the 'best' approach to designing, implementing, analysing, integrating both quantitative (number) and qualitative (word) information and writing this up in a way offers greater insights and enhances its applicability.

Self-efficacy and social support as mediators of mental health among abused women.

Supportive counseling and facilitated referrals to support organizations have shown positive effects on mental health and coping with domestic and family violence. However, the reasons why and how such effects are significant remain unknown. The current paper used data from a randomized controlled trial of a psychosocial intervention implemented in Nepal among 140 abused pregnant women.

Group Clinical Supervision for midwives and burnout: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: There are major shortfalls in the midwifery workforce which has been exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic. Midwives have high levels of burnout and many, often early career midwives, are planning to leave the profession. There are reports of a poor workplace culture in maternity units, including bullying.

The effects of COVID-19 restrictions and other perinatal factors on women's sense of control during childbirth: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Restrictions around childbirth, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, could decrease maternal feelings of control during birth. The aim of this study was to compare the sense of control of women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic with women who gave birth before COVID-19. The secondary objective was to identify other factors independently associated with women's sense of control during birth.

Use of pain management in childbirth among migrant women in Iceland: A population-based cohort study.

Background: Immigration is rapidly increasing in Iceland with 13.6% of the population holding foreign citizenship in 2020. Earlier findings identified inequities in childbirth care for some women in Iceland.

Sources of information used by women during pregnancy and the perceived quality.

Background: Access to reliable information is critical to women's experience and wellbeing during pregnancy and childbirth. In our information-rich society, women are exposed to a wide range of information sources. The primary objective of this study was to explore women's use of information sources during pregnancy and to examine the perceived usefulness and trustworthiness of these sources.

The effect of Ebola virus disease on maternal health service utilisation and perinatal outcomes in West Africa: a systematic review.

Background: Ebola outbreaks pose a major threat to global public health, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. These outbreaks disrupt the already fragile maternal health services in West Africa. The aims of this study is to assess the effect of Ebola virus disease (EVD) on maternal health service utilisation and perinatal outcomes.