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Pregnancy

Periodontal health and pregnancy

This article discusses factors that affect periodontal (gum) health and implications associated with delay in conception and reported adverse pregnancy outcomes Periodontal disease is the result of a...

Prevention of neonatal whooping cough in England: The essential role of the midwife

Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable disease of global public health significance Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) suggest that, in 2008, about 16 million cases of pertussis...

Cerebrospinal fluid shunts in the maternity context

As a result of advances in medicine, midwives and obstetricians are increasingly seeing a number women with complex medical histories This may include women who have been born with hydro cephalus, or...

Epilepsy in pregnancy: Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterised by recurrent unprovoked seizures (Krumholz et al, 2015) It is one of the most common chronic medical disorders, affecting up to 50 million people...

Immune thrombocytopaenia in pregnancy: Key principles for the midwife

Midwives are experts in the care of normal pregnancy/birth, but are also professionally accountable for detecting deviations and initiating immediate referral to an appropriate expert (Nursing and...

Should midwives consider associated psychological factors when caring for women who are obese?

According to the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE, 2010: xiii), ‘obesity is arguably the biggest challenge facing maternity services today’ Obesity is defined as having a body mass index...

What should midwives know about Zika virus infection?

On 1 February 2016, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of cases of fetal microcephaly linked to Zika in South America an international public...

Thalassaemia in pregnancy: Contemporary care for a timeless disease

Thalassaemia is one of the most common genetic blood disorders affecting women's ability to conceive and progress through a normal pregnancy and birth (Hanprasertpong et al, 2013) Currently, there are...

Pre-conception care for women with diabetes: A public health issue

Diabetes mellitus continues to be one of the most common pre-existing medical conditions to complicate pregnancy and carries considerable risks for both the woman and the fetus (McCance, 2011; Knight...

Bladder care in the context of motherhood: Ensuring holistic midwifery practice

The physiological processes of pregnancy and birth involve dramatic changes in the urogenital system, impacting women's bladder health in both the short and long term, and influencing psychological...

Micronutrients and the use of vitamin and mineral supplements during pregnancy and lactation

Optimal birth weight is often seen as the primary indicator of a positive pregnancy outcome, while a low birth weight or a baby born small for gestational age (SGA) is indicative of impaired fetal...

Are we getting the message across? Women's perceptions of public health messages in pregnancy

The potential for midwives to have a long-term impact on families by engaging purposefully in their public health role has been more clearly recognised in recent years, with publications such as...

Antiepileptic drug management during pregnancy: A shared decision approach

It is estimated that there are 81 500 women of childbearing potential (aged 12–50 years) in England with a diagnosis of epilepsy who are prescribed antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (National Institute for...

Diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus in women following bariatric surgery: A national survey of lead diabetes midwives

In the UK, approximately one fifth of women aged 16–40 years are obese (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2) and half of all women are either obese or overweight (Buchwald et al, 2009) Obesity is a...

Developing a perinatal mental health module: An integrated care approach

Perinatal mental health (PMH) relates to the emotional health and wellbeing of a woman from conception until 1 year following birth Midwives have a key role in identifying at-risk women, acting...

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