http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11378 2026-04-11T21:07:42Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11406 Title: The social and healthcare professional support drawn upon by women antenatally during the COVID-19 pandemic: A recurrent, cross-sectional, thematic analysis Authors: Jackson, Leanne; Davies, Sian ˆ M.; Gaspar, Monic; Podkujko, Anastasija; Harrold, Joanne A.; Pascalis, Leonardo DE; Fallon, Victoria Abstract: Objective: To explore antenatal experiences of social and healthcare professional support during different phases of social distancing restriction implementation in the UK. Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted via telephone or video-conferencing software between 13 July 2020 – 2 September 2020. Interviews were transcribed and a recurrent, cross-sectional, thematic analysis was conducted. Participants: Twelve antenatal women were interviewed during UK social distancing restrictions (Timepoint 1; T1) and a separate sample of twelve women were interviewed in the initial easing of these restrictions (Timepoint 2; T2). Findings: T1 themes were: ‘Maternity care as non-essential’ and ‘Pregnancy is cancelled’. T2 themes were: ‘Technology is a polarised tool’ and ‘Clinically vulnerable, or not clinically vulnerable? That is the question’. Key conclusions: At T1, anxieties were ascribed to the exclusion of partners from routine care, and to perceived insensitivity and aggression from the public. For T2, insufficient Governmental transparency led to disillusionment, confusion, and anger. Covert workplace discrimination also caused distress at T2. Across timepoints: deteriorated mental wellbeing was attributed to depleted opportunities to interact socially and scaled back maternity care. Implications for practice: Recommendations are made to: protect maternal autonomy; improve quality of mental health and routine care signposting; prioritise parental community support in the re-opening of ‘non-essential’ services; prioritise the option for face-to-face appointments when safe and legal; and protecting the rights of working mothers. 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11404 Title: Swedish maternity care professionals’ perception of labor induction Authors: Raoust, Gabriel; Hansson, Stefan Rocco; Kajonius, Petri Abstract: Background: Sweden recently adopted new labor induction guidelines lowering the threshold for post-term pregnancies to 41+ weeks. Despite evidence-based foundation, these guidelines stirred controversy among maternity care professionals, who voiced concerns about potential risks and unintended consequences, such as a rising Caesarean section rate. Midwives also highlighted potential impacts on their roles, workload, and working environment; implications that could affect obstetricians and gynecologists as well. Investigating Swedish maternity care professionals’ views on labor induction could benefit policymakers, managers, and birthing women alike. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe and compare midwives to obstetricians/gynecologists, with regards to their views on labor induction, and how this relates to other work-related variables such as overall job satisfaction, clinical experience, gender, age, personality, and workload. Methods: Swedish midwives (N = 207, 99 % women, M = 45.2 years), and obstetricians/gynecologists (N = 240, 83 % women, M = 44.3 years) responded to an online questionnaire reflecting aspects of maternity care work. The data was analyzed using Welch’s t-test and Pearson’s correlation analysis. Results: A large difference was observed in labor induction views between midwives and obstetricians/gynecologists (d = 1.39), as well as lower job satisfaction with midwives (d = -0.26). Overall job satisfaction further correlated negatively with views on labor induction (r = -0.30). Conclusions: Labor inductions might pose challenges to midwives and could bring to light underlying tensions between obstetricians/gynecologists and midwives. Given the modest response rate of the study, we cautiously suggest that while the development of new maternity care guidelines should be grounded in evidence, they should also embrace concerns and insights from a diversity of professional perspectives. 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11401 Title: Reported respectful maternity care received during childbirth at health facilities: A cross sectional survey in Eastern province, Rwanda Authors: Muhayimana, Alice; Kearns, Irene; Darius, Gishoma; Olive, Tengera; Thierry, Uhawenimana C. Abstract: Background: Respectful maternity care (RMC) fosters positive childbirth experiences and ensures safe motherhood. While past Rwandan studies on childbirth predominantly focused on negative experiences, our research delved into positive experiences. This study aimed to assess the RMC level experienced by women during childbirth in health facilities of Eastern Province of Rwanda. Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional survey on 610 mothers at their discharge across five public hospitals. We used a 15-items RMC questionnaire developed by White Ribbon Alliance, version of 2019. To manage the right-skewed data, we employed a median cut-off, categorizing experiences into binary outcome (low and high RMC score). We performed stepwise backward elimination logistic regression model to identify predictors of high RMC. Findings: The majority (70.2%) reported experiencing RMC. The most acclaimed RMC items (over 90%) included allowance of food and fluid intake (98.5%), non-discrimination (96.2%), receipt of necessary services (96.1%), and privacy (91.3%). The chi-square analysis showed an association between reported high RMC and marital status (p-value = 0.006), occupation (p-value = 0.001), and mode of delivery (p-value = 0.001). Caesarean section delivery was associated with high RMC in multivariate logistic regression with a p-value of 0.001, the adjusted odds ratio was 2.11 with a CI [1.40–3.17]. Conclusion: The reported RMC items and care appreciated at high level should be sustained. Regardless of mode of delivery, all mothers should experience consistent, utmost respect throughout the childbirth and should receive RMC at maximum level. 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11399 Title: Men’s involvement in maternal health in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review of enablers and barriers Authors: Moyo, Enos; Dzinamarira, Tafadzwa; Moyo, Perseverance; Murewanhema, Grant; R, Andrew Abstract: Background: Globally, there are about 800 maternal deaths every day, with low-to-middle-income countries accounting for most of these deaths. A lack of access to maternal healthcare services is one of the main causes of these deaths. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), one of the barriers to accessing maternal healthcare services by women is a lack of their male partners’ involvement. This scoping review aimed to assess the enablers and barriers to men’s involvement in maternal healthcare services. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist was used as a guide for this review. We searched for peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2023 in the English language from SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Africa Journals Online (AJOL), and Google Scholar databases. Two reviewers independently conducted the data extraction and article selection. All of the authors discussed and decided on the codes and categories for enablers and barriers after using NVivo to generate them. Results: Twenty-seven articles were used in this review. Of these, seventeen were qualitative studies, six were quantitative studies, and four were mixed-methods studies. The enablers of men’s involvement in maternal healthcare were grouped into sociodemographic factors, health system factors, and policy factors, while barriers were grouped into sociodemographic, cultural, economic, and health system barriers. The lack of maternal health knowledge, insufficient economic resources, and unfriendly staff at healthcare facilities all contributed to a lack of involvement by men. Conclusion: To improve men’s involvement in maternal healthcare in SSA, there should be economic empowerment of both men and women, health education, and the provision of adequate infrastructure in healthcare facilities to accommodate men. 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z