Background: Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities face poorer reproductive and pregnancy outcomes partially due to health care inequity. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review of reproductive and pregnancy related health care among women with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Methods: We systematically reviewed…

Purpose: Group prenatal care, which integrates medical care with patient education and empowerment in a group setting, has the potential to build social support among pregnant women and reduce the risk of postpartum depression (PPD). Past research on group care's effects on social support or PPD has produced inconsistent findings. Studies have…

The prevalence of autism is rising, a dynamic attributed to numerous explanations (e.g. better diagnostic practices, decreased stigma). As this neurodevelopmental disability increases in visibility, disparities in its diagnostic rate grow. Female and Black populations in the United States have historically lower prevalence, are diagnosed later,…

This article concerns knowledge negotiations as an aspect of interactional power in three-way interaction between Arabic-speaking women, Swedish-speaking midwives and interpreters in Swedish antenatal care. The notion of epistemic stance is used to investigate how all three participants negotiate knowledge, and how this affects the ongoing…

Stunting is an important issue as it leads to many adverse consequences on children's health. Pakistan is in public health crisis due to higher stunting rates in children. World Health Organization entails the prevalence of stunting to be less than 2.5% in a healthy population, but every third child is stunted in Punjab (largest province of…

Despite the wide spread awareness regarding the need to improve maternal health, maternal mortality remains a great concern in Nigeria. Consequently, the importance of medical attention required in the care of pregnant women cannot be over emphasised. This study investigates the influence of barriers to attending antenatal care among pregnant…

In 2004, the government of Punjab, Pakistan introduced a conditional cash assistance program for girls attending secondary schools. We exploit variations in exposure to the program across cohorts and regions to estimate the long run effects of the program on women's marriage and fertility decisions, maternal healthcare utilization and the health…

Background: The SMART Moms/Mamás LÍSTAS Project was a randomized control trial that tested the efficacy of a prenatal stress management program in reducing stress and cortisol levels among low-income women. The current study is a process evaluation of the stress management program (intervention arm of the original randomized controlled trial) and…

Objective: To examine how student midwives in higher education learn to become competent and confident woman-centred practitioners. Design: Participant observation study using a 'buddy' approach. Setting: Bachelor of Midwifery students in one higher education institution in the Netherlands Methods: First-year student midwives followed one woman…

Purpose: Prenatal exercise is a health behavior that is receiving growing attention amid concern that women in Western societies are gaining excess weight during pregnancy and contributing to future obesity in both the mother and child. In this article, we draw on insights from the fields of social epidemiology and social theory of the body to…

This edition of "The State of the World's Children" report examines children, food and nutrition. It seeks to deepen understanding around the causes and consequences of children's malnutrition in all its forms and to highlight how governments, business, families and other stakeholders can best respond. Chapter 1 examines the changing…

Background: As pregnant mothers increasingly engage in shared decision making regarding prenatal decisions, such as induction of labor, the patient's level of activation may influence pregnancy outcomes. One potential tool to increase patient activation in the clinical setting is mobile applications. However, research is limited in comparing…

According to the WHO data, preeclampsia develops during late pregnancy in 2-8% of women. Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, therefore, the study of the morphological features of placental complex, taking into account gestational complications in postpartum women with severe preeclampsia is an important…

Background: With increasing numbers of people with an intellectual disability choosing to become parents, the right support is imperative for effective parenting (Macintyre & Stewart2011]). The aim of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of parents who received support from Doulas during pregnancy, birth and following the birth…