Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care最新文献

{"title":"Welcome to Birth's Special Issue on Critical Midwifery Studies","authors":"Bahareh Goodarzi, Priya Sharma, Heba Farajallah, Raquel Justiniano, Melissa Cheyney","doi":"10.1111/birt.70015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70015","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In June 2022, the Critical Midwifery Studies (CMS) Collective published a commentary, calling for the development of Critical Midwifery Studies: a field of critical scholarship within midwifery that analyzes injustice in sexual, reproductive, maternal, and newborn care (SRMN) [<span>1</span>]. The CMS Collective is a growing transnational collective consisting of members from the Global South and North, including midwives, doulas, scholars, educators, service users and other advocates for justice in SRMN. Over the past three years, CMS has emerged as a field of scholarship to which authors, irrespective of their affiliation to the collective, have contributed (Einion and Robertson 2023 [<span>2</span>]; Melamed 2024 [<span>3</span>]; Thompson and Yates-Doerr 2024 [<span>4</span>]; Mulder et al. 2023 [<span>5</span>]; Isobel 2023 [<span>6</span>]; Ménage and Patterson 2025 [<span>7</span>]; Melamed et al. 2024 [<span>8</span>]; Sharma, Ku and Gallardo 2025 [<span>9</span>]; Van der Waal 2023 [<span>10</span>]; Van der Waal 2024 [<span>11</span>]; Van der Waal et al. 2024 [<span>12</span>]; Van der Waal et al. 2025 [<span>13</span>]; Mayne and Ghidei 2024 [<span>14</span>]; Parker et al. 2024 [<span>15</span>]; Overtoom, Goodarzi and Kanu 2025 [<span>16</span>]). In addition to academic uptake, the 2022 Utrecht summer school programme in Humanizing Birth (lectures available online) [<span>17</span>] and the transnational collaboration on Birth Futures have emerged from this initiative [<span>18</span>].</p><p>CMS was established in 2021, sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement that explicated racial injustices through the whole of society, including those that affect reproductive care and outcomes. These injustices were exacerbated further by the COVID-19 pandemic. Together we are focused on examining how midwifery can explicitly counter inequity and promote global SRMN justice. In the 2022 commentary, we underscored the vast track record of care provided by autonomous midwives globally and highlighted the potential of midwifery to abolish systematic injustice (for instance, in the forms of obstetric violence and obstetric racism) in reproductive care. We argued that the potential of midwifery as a liberatory practice aimed at reproductive justice can only be realized if midwifery critically reflects on its own position, including its own complicity in perpetuating injustice. While midwifery has long engaged with second wave feminist literature, we flagged a lack of engagement with more recent forms of critical theory, such as intersectionality, post- and decolonial theory, Black studies, queer and trans studies, dis/ability studies, the climate justice movement, and anti-war and anti-capitalist theory.</p><p>One recent example of the failure of midwifery to confront social injustice is the disappointing response to the genocide waged by Israël on Palestinians. Most professional midwifery organizations declined to express their solidarity or ","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":"52 3","pages":"365-366"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/birt.70015","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145062355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Simultaneous Concept Analysis to Provide Clarity Between Obstetric Violence and Birth Trauma.","authors":"Kripalini Patel, Liz Newnham, Kathrine Gillett, Allison Cummins","doi":"10.1111/birt.70019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In perinatal care, obstetric violence and birth trauma are two distinct yet often conflated concepts. This confusion can obscure the specific harms of obstetric violence, as its impact is frequently subsumed under the broader idea of birth trauma, leading to underreporting of obstetric violence. Simultaneous concept analysis is used to clarify two related concepts by comparing their unique elements and identifying overlaps.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To compare the antecedents, attributes, and consequences of both the concepts and to identify their intersections.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A comprehensive search across PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and ProQuest yielded 98 articles on obstetric violence and 62 on birth trauma. Thematic analysis of antecedents, attributes, and outcomes informed a comparative validity matrix.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Obstetric violence and birth trauma have different causes and characteristics but lead to similar outcomes. Birth trauma arises from experiences like fear or unmet expectations, while obstetric violence involves abuse by providers and systemic failures. Both result in emotional distress, anxiety, and fear of future childbirth.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Existing literature uses the term \"birth trauma\" as a euphemism for what is essentially obstetric violence. Considering the conceptual confusion between the subjective trauma arising from childbirth experiences and the trauma specifically resulting from abuse by healthcare providers, we are suggesting a new term, \"Obstetric Trauma\" This would specifically indicate the structural and institutional consequences of obstetric violence on women. It would also help guide targeted interventions, policy changes, and support systems aimed at preventing obstetric violence and promoting respectful maternity care.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145041924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Birth Outcomes for Obstetrician- or Midwife-Led Intrapartum Care.","authors":"Natalie T Simon, Trisha Agarwal, Virginia Lijewski, Kevin Flores, Jessica Anderson, Denise Smith, Jeanelle Sheeder, Jay Schulkin, K Joseph Hurt","doi":"10.1111/birt.70012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Studies suggest that midwifery care can decrease the rate of unplanned cesarean birth. In this study, we compared unplanned cesarean rates, labor interventions, and birth outcomes for mixed-risk patients receiving intrapartum care from obstetricians or midwives.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective cohort study using perinatal data from a single academic tertiary center from 2013 to 2018. The sample included nulliparous and multiparous patients with a term, singleton, vertex fetus. We included induced and spontaneous labor as well as trial of labor after cesarean. We excluded patients with planned cesarean delivery or any high-risk diagnosis requiring obstetrician care.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our cohort included 7694 patients. Of those, 3543 (46.0%) received intrapartum care from an obstetrician and 4151 (54.0%) from a midwife. The overall cesarean rate was 11.8%. Patients receiving midwifery care had significantly lower cesarean rates (8.9% vs. 15.2%; p < 0.01) overall and by adjusted analysis [aOR 0.49 (0.40-0.60) 95% CI]. Patients receiving obstetrician care more frequently experienced induction/augmentation, neuraxial anesthesia, and operative vaginal delivery. Obstetrician-led care was associated with increased lacerations, intra-amniotic infection, and severe maternal morbidity, while midwifery-led care was associated with increased rates of postpartum hemorrhage, blood transfusion, and shoulder dystocia.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Midwifery intrapartum care was associated with lower rates of unplanned cesarean birth in this mixed-risk cohort of laboring and induced patients. Wider integration of midwives for intrapartum care could increase vaginal delivery rates. Additional studies are needed to explore underlying mechanisms and implications for systems- and practice-based changes in the United States.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145041988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring Maternity Related Emergencies in Prehospital Settings and Available Obstetric Training for Emergency Medical Services Personnel: An Integrative Review of Literature.","authors":"Aljawharah Almubarak, Abdullah Alshibani, Shawn Walker","doi":"10.1111/birt.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The vulnerability of maternity patients is exacerbated by the prehospital setting. EMS providers are often underexposed and undertrained for maternal emergencies, which further complicates care delivery. This review aimed to explore prehospital maternity-related emergencies encountered by EMS providers, their experiences, and the training available for such cases.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Medline, EMBASE, Maternity, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for published studies in English from 01/01/2002 to 10/08/2024 using a pre-set list of terms. Studies concerning prehospital maternity-related events attended by EMS, the description or evaluation of maternity care training courses for EMS providers, were included. Eligible studies were critically appraised using the (MMAT) tool. An integrative synthesis was used in this review as the heterogeneity of the studies prevented a meta-analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From 9678 identified studies, 35 studies were included. Prehospital maternity-related emergencies remain infrequent, less than 1% of EMS emergency calls globally, with a higher incidence rate in low-income countries. Most of these were labor and childbirth-related emergencies. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were positive, with less than 0.1% of maternal and infant mortality. Qualitative data highlighted providers' lack of confidence when attending to maternal emergencies. Language barriers and cultural competency should be considered when caring for maternal patients. Training courses included common maternal emergencies, and post-training evaluations showed improvements in knowledge and skills for EMS providers.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>EMS providers showed critical involvement during prehospital maternity-related emergencies, indicating the importance of high-quality training. When designing training courses, the unique environments of prehospital settings and the needs of their targeted population should be considered. Further research should explore the impact of training courses on patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145041993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Impact of Midwife Experience and Time of Birth on the Risk of Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries (OASIS).","authors":"Raneen Abu Shqara, Susana Mustafa Mikhail, Sari Nahir Biderman, Nadir Ganem, Lior Lowenstein, Maya Frank Wolf","doi":"10.1111/birt.70018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) are a significant complication of vaginal birth. While most studies focus on patient-related risk factors, the impact of midwife experience and shift timing remains understudied. We examined the association between these factors and OASIS risk in spontaneous vaginal deliveries.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective cohort study analyzed term, singleton, cephalic, spontaneous vaginal deliveries at the Galilee Medical Center (March 2020-February 2025), excluding operative vaginal births and cesarean deliveries. Deliveries were categorized by midwife experience: inexperienced (< 2 years), moderately experienced (2-10 years), and highly experienced (> 10 years). Shift timing and delivery patterns within shifts were also examined. The primary outcome was OASIS incidence. Multivariate logistic regression adjusted for confounders such as parity, macrosomia, and second-stage duration.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 13,651 term spontaneous vaginal deliveries, OASIS occurred in 0.6%, with the highest rate among early-career midwives (1.9%) compared to mid-career (0.6%) and experienced midwives (0.5%) (p < 0.001). Associations remained significant after multivariate adjustment. Early-career midwives had a higher risk of OASIS (aOR 3.29, 95% CI 1.49-7.26), while mid-career midwives had a comparable risk to experienced midwives (aOR 1.05, 95% CI 0.60-1.85). Evening shift deliveries (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.01-2.96) and deliveries during the last 2 h of a shift (aOR 1.82, 95% CI 1.05-3.14) were also independently associated with increased OASIS risk.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients delivered by experienced midwives had lower rates of OASIS. This protective effect was especially evident in deliveries without episiotomy. Strengthening midwifery training and optimizing staffing may help improve perineal outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145024850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Birthing Cultural Humility: A Transformation of Reproductive Justice in the Military Health System.","authors":"Brelahn J Wyatt-Nash, Caitlin M Drumm, Abigail Konopasky, Gayle Haischer-Rollo, Monica A Lutgendorf, Rasheda J Vereen","doi":"10.1111/birt.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Rising disparities in maternal-child healthcare are linked explicitly to outcomes based on patients' cultural identities. Those who receive universally available health care in the military are not immune from these disparities. Practicing cultural humility has been proposed as a tool for advancing equity through improved understanding of cultural factors that may impact a patient's healthcare. How cultural humility impacts healthcare remains unexplored from the patient perspective.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To examine the relationship between patient identity and experience within the Military Health System, from their own perspectives, we conducted 31 semi-structured interviews with birthing individuals who delivered a child utilizing military health insurance within the last 5 years. Participants were recruited through physical flyers and social media blasts, with additional purposive sampling. Data was coded, and repeating patterns of experience were identified and interrogated through thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three predominant findings were identified via the interviews. First, participants with minoritized backgrounds described instances of racism, sexism, and homophobia attributed to a lack of cultural humility and ultimately to the delivery of oppressive medical care by providers. Second, this lack of cultural humility was described further through a lack of communication, feeling unheard or dismissed, and exposure to judgment and paternalism. Third, there were described instances of shared decision making as well as autonomy and respect that contributed to culturally humble care provided to a portion of participants, which positively impacted their care.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Experiences of birthing individuals in the Military Health System qualitatively support prior quantitative studies and offer insight into the lack of cultural humility underlying care provided over the last several years. Ultimately, providers should use this information as a framework for understanding the sources of cultural humility and how they address it in individual patient-provider interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145014466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Perinatal Experience of Women With a History of Intimate Partner Violence: The Birth Experience Study.","authors":"Hazel Keedle, Maria Phung, Katherine Young, Warren Keedle, Kathleen Baird, Hannah Dahlen","doi":"10.1111/birt.70016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Experiencing intimate partner violence impacts the ongoing physical and psychological health of women and can contribute to poorer maternal and neonatal health during the perinatal period.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In a national maternity experiences cross-sectional online survey, 1198 (13.6%) women identified as experiencing IPV in their lifetime. Using quantitative descriptive statistics, the maternity and mental health measures were explored for women who had experienced IPV and had a baby in Australia between 2016 and 2021.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings demonstrated significant differences in the sociodemographic factors, mental health history, pregnancy and birth experiences, and negative interactions with health care providers.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The findings in this study demonstrate how previously traumatized women can leave the maternity system retraumatized and identify the need for a trauma-informed approach to maternity care.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144979251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Disrespectful Maternity Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study in Chandigarh and Kalyani, West Bengal, India.","authors":"Madhu Gupta, Aritrik Das, Paramita Sengupta, Jitendra Majhi, Zawata Afnan, K Safvan, Preetika Banerjee, Nimran Kaur, Tushara Rajeev, Stephanie Pocius, Arita Acharjee, Kayur Mehta, Smisha Agarwal, Anita Shet","doi":"10.1111/birt.70017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Respectful maternity care promotes dignity, privacy, and informed choices during childbirth, can improve maternal and newborn health outcomes, and broadly contributes to greater gender equality. In India, efforts like the JSY program and the LaQshya initiative are underway, bringing considerable progress in understanding this area. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several health program disruptions resulted in changes in healthcare experiences. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of disrespectful maternity care and its associated factors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To understand the experiences of families undergoing maternity care during the pandemic, we surveyed households in Chandigarh, a Union Territory in North India, and Kalyani, a town in West Bengal. This cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers with children less than 2 years old before March 2020 (pre-pandemic period, n = 413) and after March 2020 (pandemic period, n = 407). Disrespectful maternity care was studied across seven domains, which included physical abuse, non-dignified care, non-consented care, non-confidential care, discrimination, abandonment, and detention. Data was managed using REDCap and were analyzed using SPSS (version 25.0). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate differences in the type of maternity care experienced by the two groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 776 mothers, 227 (29.3%) reported disrespectful maternity care. There were no statistically significant differences in disrespectful maternity care faced pre-pandemic and during the pandemic. Non-dignified care was experienced significantly more commonly during the pandemic as compared to pre-pandemic (aOR = 2.24; 95% CI: 1.23-4.08). During the pandemic, detention (which refers to the demand for bribery or detaining the mother or baby within the healthcare center for failure to pay) was experienced by a significantly higher proportion of women who did not receive financial assistance for delivery care (89.3% vs. 75.4%; aOR = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.13-6.58).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Almost a third of the mothers in our study reported disrespectful maternity care, and the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact this proportion. Our findings highlight the need to reduce non-dignified care and provide financial assistance to mothers during delivery to avoid detention during public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144978989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Professional Preferences Towards Vaginal Breech Delivery at Term: An International Discrete Choice Experiment.","authors":"Merle R van Dijk, Lotte van Wijk, Leonie E Van Rheenen-Flach, Etelka Moll, Wessel Ganzevoort, Joost Velzel","doi":"10.1111/birt.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess healthcare professionals' preferences for antepartum counseling on the mode of delivery for patients with term breech presentation and their preferences for intrapartum management of vaginal breech delivery (VBD).</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>A web-based international survey and Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) were conducted among gynecologists and midwives. In the DCE for antepartum counseling, participants were presented with scenarios for antepartum counseling and asked to choose between VBD and elective cesarean delivery (CD). The scenarios differed in four attributes: maternal age, BMI, parity, and estimated fetal weight. Intrapartum management of VBD was evaluated through a questionnaire involving four distinct clinical scenarios.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In antepartum counseling, the likelihood of being advised for a VBD was 43.9%. The strongest factors to opt for a CD compared to a VBD were a history of vaginal birth (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.19-0.32) and a large estimated fetal weight (OR 5.89, 95% CI 4.07-8.54). Intrapartum management during breech deliveries did not differ among professionals and their annual number of self-reported VBD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The key factors driving professionals to recommend CD are a history of vaginal birth and average estimated fetal weight. Intrapartum management approaches during breech deliveries were consistent across professionals. Those with more experience managing VBDs were more likely to counsel patients towards VBD antepartum and proceed with VBD intrapartum.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144979048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Women's Experience of Continuity During Antenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study in The Netherlands.","authors":"Evelien Cellissen, Marijke J C Hendrix, Luc Budé, Naaz Shareef, Maaike Vogels-Broeke, Marianne J Nieuwenhuijze","doi":"10.1111/birt.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Continuity of maternity care contributes to improved birth experiences and health outcomes among women and newborns. To improve continuity of maternity care in the Netherlands, the Integrated maternity care standard recommends a maternity care plan and a coordinating care professional for all care settings. This study aimed to gain insights into women's experiences of continuity during antenatal care in the Netherlands in both community and hospital settings and whether a maternity care plan and coordinating care professional are associated with continuity of care as experienced by women.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2019 to 2020 among pregnant women (> 32 weeks) in the Netherlands. Experienced continuity of care was measured using the Nijmegen Continuity Questionnaire. We used regression analyses to explore the association between a maternity care plan, coordinating care professional, and experience of continuity during the antenatal period in multiple care settings.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We included 1165 women in this study. Most women reported moderate to high levels of continuity, with higher scores reported for care provided by community midwives compared to hospital staff. Having a maternity care plan, a coordinating care professional, and experiencing few care professionals were significantly associated with higher scores on continuity when care was provided by community midwives, but these associations were not found when care was provided by hospital staff.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Our findings emphasize the critical role of community midwives in promoting antenatal continuity. A maternity care plan, coordinating care professionals, and fewer care professionals contribute to this experience of continuity.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144979409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}