The impact of human trafficking in relation to maternity care: A literature review

Human trafficking is an international crime and violation of human rights defined as the recruitment and movement of people for the purposes of exploitation – using coercion, deception, and abuse of vulnerability (PROTECT Report for the Department of Health Policy Research Programme, 2015). Trafficking falls under the umbrella term of ‘Modern Slavery’ which additionally encompasses slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour (Department of Justice, 2019). In 2013, there were an estimated 10,000–13,000 potential victims of modern slavery in the UK (Department of Justice, 2019); its scale is gradually increasing due a number of social and economic factors (Wheaton et al., 2010).

Evidence and guidelines for trauma-informed doula care

Although trauma and trauma-related health conditions are increasingly common among childbearing people (Sperlich et al., 2017; Vignato et al., 2017), there is a dearth of published evidence and guidance on trauma-informed doula care. Trauma refers to an event(s) or circumstances that are experienced as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that have lasting adverse effects on wellbeing (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2014)). This can include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and negative pregnancy-related outcomes such as substance use, prematurity, low birth weight, postpartum depression, difficulty bonding with the baby, children with PTSD, or even maternal and infant death (Sperlich et al., 2017; Kilpatrick 2017; Kendig et al., 2017).

Antenatal and postnatal depression – Are Polish midwives really ready for them?

Before January 2019, no established solutions regarding the screening, assessment, and treatment of patients suffering from perinatal depression existed in Poland. From 2019, a new standard of perinatal care has imposed the obligation to monitor the mental state of women during pregnancy and in the postpartum period on the healthcare providers (mainly on midwives). Thus, our study aimed to evaluate midwives’ knowledge about prenatal and postnatal mental health disorders in the first six months of implementing the new standard of perinatal care in Poland.

Development, psychometric assessment, and predictive validity of the comprehensive breastfeeding knowledge scale

To develop a breastfeeding knowledge scale that aligns with the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and psychometrically test it among expectant parents.

Midwives experiences of providing midwifery care following their involvement in an obstetric emergency

A core aspect of midwifery practice is being ‘with woman’. This requires the midwife to be physically and emotionally invested in the care of the woman at all times (Carolan and Hodnett, 2007; Leinweber and Rowe, 2010). A review of international literature in relation to midwives experiences following obstetrical adverse events indicated a necessity for further study. Whilst, there have been numerous studies which have focused on the negative experiences of birthing from the woman's perspectives, midwives experiences of providing care following an obstetric emergency have received little investigation (Jeffers, 1987; Dahlen, 2010; Leinweber and Rowe, 2010; Ramvi, 2011; Handlezalts et al., 2015).

Perinatal contraceptive counselling: Effectiveness of a reinforcement intervention on top of standard clinical practice

To assess the effectiveness of supplemental perinatal contraceptive counselling in addition to standard Spanish postpartum contraceptive counselling with regard to contraceptive use and use of effective contraception up to 1 year postpartum. Women's satisfaction with counselling and the method chosen was also assessed.

Women's experiences with enhanced recovery after elective caesarean section with next day discharge: A qualitative study

A maternity service in Australia recently implemented an ‘Enhanced recovery after Elective Caesarean’ pathway, which includes antenatal preparation and facilitates an active role in postnatal recovery such as encouraging mobility and early cessation of fasting. The pathway includes next day discharge for women and their babies after elective caesarean section and safely transitions maternity care from hospital to home with community midwifery care. While enhanced recovery has been implemented in a number of surgical procedures to reduce hospital stay and to improve patient outcomes it has only been considered for elective caesarean sections in more recent years.

Your baby is so happy, active, uncooperative: How prenatal care providers contribute to parents’ mental representations of the baby

Parents’ prenatal mental representations (i.e., thoughts and expectations) of their future child and relationship to that child have been associated with parenting and parent-child relationships after birth.

Magnitude of disrespectful and abusive care among women during facility-based childbirth in Shambu town, Horro Guduru Wollega zone, Ethiopia

Disrespectful care during childbirth causes suffering and discourages women from seeking facility-based care. It is one of the silent causes of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide, but not yet well recorded especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to measure the magnitude of disrespect and abusive behaviors of health professionals during childbirth and associated factors.

Editorial Board

International news letter - March 2020

Arabic-speaking women's experiences of communication at antenatal care in Sweden using a tablet application – part of development and feasibility study

The purpose of this study was to explore Arabic-speaking women´s experiences of communication at antenatal care in Sweden when using a tablet application (app).

The provision of midwife-led care in low-and middle-income countries: An integrative review

Addressing preventable maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity are major issues globally with low- and lower middle-income countries (LMICS) having the highest rates (Graham et al. 2016; UNFPA, WHO & ICM 2014; WHO, UNICEF & UNFPA 2014). Each day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth (Alkema et al. 2016). In addition, approximately 2.5 million newborn babies die each year (UN 2018) and a further 2.6 million are stillborn (Lawn et al. 2011). Most deaths are from LMICS which account for 95% of maternal and 90% of all child deaths globally (Boerma et al.

Project 20: Midwives’ insight into continuity of care models for women with social risk factors: What works, for whom, in what circumstances, and how

Women with social risk factors such as those living in poverty and social isolation, seeking asylum or refugee status, experiencing domestic abuse, mental illness, learning difficulties, and substance abuse problems, have significantly higher rates of poor birth outcomes compared to their more advantaged counterparts (Draper, 2019, Biro, 2017, Lindquist, 2015, Blumenshine, 2010, Smith 2009). In both the UK and the US women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds [BME] also experience unacceptably high rates of morbidity and mortality compared to their white counterparts, regardless of their socio-economic status (Knight et al, 2018).

Methamphetamine use in pregnancy, child protection, and removal of infants: Tertiary centre experience from Western Australia

The Women and Newborn Drug and Alcohol Service (WANDAS) is a specialist antenatal service at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth Western Australia, that provides multidisciplinary care to pregnant women who use or have a history of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) misuse. Illicit methamphetamine use along with polysubstance use is a significant health problem in Australia and within the WANDAS population.

Benchmarking outcomes in maternity care: Peripartum incontinence - a framework for standardised reporting

To evaluate a framework to facilitate standardised reporting of perinatal incontinence.

How are decisions made to access a planned epidural in labour? Midwife-woman interactions in antenatal consultations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in the decision to access a planned epidural in labour was topicalised and negotiated between pregnant women and midwives.

Developing and introducing a post birth care plan (PBCP): An action research project

The concept of ‘postnatal’ is open to interpretation both in terminology and meaning and referred to in several ways such as ‘post-birth’ and ‘postpartum’ and in some contexts refers to ‘…the period from childbirth to the 42nd day following delivery…’ (World Health Organization, 2014), and elsewhere extending to 8 weeks post-birth. Generally greater emphasis is placed on pregnancy and less on women's postnatal individual needs and wishes (Kleppel et al., 2016). Post-birth care continues to receive the least focus (Declercq et al., 2013; Zadoroznyi et al., 2015).

Improvisation and harm avoidance: An ethnographic study of adherence to postnatal care protocols in two hospitals in Southern Ghana

Postnatal care (PNC) is the skilled care given to mothers and babies immediately after delivery and for six weeks thereafter (WHO, 2013). The aim is to detect, manage or refer maternal and newborn health problems and life-threatening complications. (Ronsmans and Graham, 2006; Nadisauskiene et al., 2014; Singh et al., 2014; WHO and UNICEF, 2014). Protocols and guidelines are “statements to assist healthcare practitioners to make appropriate decisions about the right care in specific conditions and circumstances” (Woolf et al., 1999:527).

Womens’ experiences of living with obstetric fistula in Ghana–time for the establishment of a fistula centre of excellence

To explore the experiences of women living with Obstetric Fistula in Ghana.