Influenza and pregnancy

Pregnant women are at higher risk of developing complications following influenza, particularly in their second and third trimesters, due to their altered immunity and physiological adaptations...

Fathers' perinatal mental health

Around 10 years ago, there was little discussion around the incidence of postnatal depression Statistics by Cox et al (1987) demonstrated that at least 1 in 10 mothers suffered from it and this was...

Pulse oximetry screening

Critical congenital heart defects (CCHDs) affect around 2 in 1 000 newborns, and babies with CCHD often have low blood oxygen concentrations, which can be measured by non-invasive pulse oximetry (PO)...

The establishment of breastfeeding in the small-for-gestational-age baby

The term small for gestational age (SGA) refers to an infant born with a birthweight ‘lower than expected for a given duration of gestation’ (Tudehope et al, 2013) More specifically, it applies to...

How to have the ‘ideal’ Down syndrome screening discussion at antenatal appointments

This is the fourth in a series of papers. The previous papers inform midwifery practice by providing insight into whether, to what extent and how cognitive status influences understanding of Down...

Midwifery and the 2020 Nightingale bicentenary celebrations

Midwifery will be in the spotlight throughout 2020 as this year has been declared the international year of the nurse and midwife by the World Health Organization (WHO); the Nightingale bicentenary...

Non-invasive prenatal testing and decision-making

The phrase ‘tyranny of choice’ has been widely used in recent years to illustrate the increasing range of options that are available to consumers in the developed world But Suter (2018) uses the term...

Volunteering with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

In August 2019, I left the NHS to volunteer as a midwife in Kutupalong refugee camp in the south of Bangladesh Approximately 909 000 Rohingya refugee are residing in 34 camps in Bangladesh's...

The value nurses and midwives hold

As the World Health Organization announced 2020 the year of the nurse and midwife, many influential organisations are rallying round to showcase the achievements of the professions and give a platform...

An exploration of reasons why some women may leave the birth experience with emotional distress

Women use different terms to describe distress in relation to a poor childbirth experience Whereas some women consider it as having been negative, others feel their birth was traumatic (Creedy et al,...

The influence of women's cognitive status on their understanding of Down syndrome screening

The booking appointment is the first antenatal appointment a woman has with her midwife At this appointment, women are offered screening for numerous conditions, including Down syndrome It is vital...

Primiparous women's narratives of confidence in the perinatal period

Pregnancy and childbirth are described as transitional phases or existential thresholds that childbearing women have to cross These events are multifaceted experiences with many dimensions, unique for...

It's up to us

The impact of birth-related injury and pain on breastfeeding outcomes

Human milk is acknowledged to be the optimum source of nutrition for infants, while also being beneficial to maternal health (Victora et al, 2016) As such, the World Health Organization ([WHO], 2019)...

Reflecting on #16DaysofActivism2019

During November and December 2019, I was delighted to see so much activity around the international ‘16 Days of Activism’ campaign to end violence against women and girls This years' theme was ‘Orange...