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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Red cell (D) allo-immunisation is a complication of pregnancy that can occur when a pregnant woman does not have the D antigen on her red blood cells (RhD negative) but her fetus does (RhD positive)...
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