While fertility is a widely studied public health issue, infertility among college students is rarely examined. Research on fertility among college students focuses primarily on pregnancy prevention. Often constructed as hyper-fertile, cohorts of women in graduate studies are struggling with fertility issues and left to suffer in silence.…

Researching in heterogeneous communities can present challenges for the most experienced of researchers, especially in the context of ethnographic work, where the dynamism and unpredictability of a research setting can make it difficult to anticipate the languages spoken. Drawing on data from multilingual health consultations, I reflect on…

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…

Knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) by health care, police, legal and social work professionals has been shown to be insufficient. This lack of competence is likely to affect the quality of services. The aim of this study was to describe SRHR indicators in educational programmes in health care, police, legal and social…

Objectives: To assess whether a telephone-based breastfeeding intervention delivered by lactation educators influenced exclusive breastfeeding rates among low-income Hispanic women in the USA. Design: Randomised two-group design. Setting: Pregnant low-income Hispanic women (298) were recruited from community health clinics in Los Angeles County…

The authors examined the effects of personality and pregnancy worries on pregnant women's mental and physical health with 154 women in the first half of their gestational period. Self-report questionnaires were used to collect information about control variables, sociodemographic (age, educational level, and work), and pregnancy variables…

Substance abuse creates enormous risks for the developing relationship between mother and infant. Thus, the perinatal period is a critical aspect of addiction treatment. This article highlights the importance of relationships and the reflective supervision that is crucial in the delivery of integrated infant mental health service for pregnant…

Background: Consumption of folic acid prior to conception can prevent up to 70% of neural tube defect (NTD)-affected pregnancies. In 1992, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) issued a recommendation that all women of childbearing age capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 [mu]g of folic acid daily to reduce their risk for a NTD-affected…

Purpose: To explore adolescent health seeking behavior during pregnancy and early motherhood in order to contribute to health policy formulation and improved access to health care. This will in long-term have an impact on the reduction of morbidity and mortality among adolescent mothers and their newborns. Methods: This was a qualitative study…

This book is intended to assist teachers, practitioners, and administrators to develop programs for training nonphysician, primary health care workers in Third World countries. It contains the instructional context of a comprehensive training program, organized into chapters and presented in outline form. Learning strategies follow each section of…

This review of child health care services examines some comprehensive primary care programs begun in the past decade throughout the U.S. and explains in simple language current thinking about the organization of health care for children. It is noted that loss of support may threaten certain currently successful programs, and that a great need…

This publication discusses the use of risk strategy for the organization and management of health care services for mothers and children. Individuals and groups with an increased expectation of complications or disease are defined as being "at risk" and the aim of the health services should be to identify them as early as possible and to intervene…

Briefly describes three innovative social service programs for rural areas: Rural Adolescent Pregnancy Program, Involving the Natural Family in Long-Term (Foster) Care, and Promoting Collaboration in Rural Health Practice through Interdisciplinary Education. Provides names and addresses of rural practitioners to contact for further information.…

This executive summary presents specific proposals to improve maternal and child health conditions in the United States. Contents of the summary are organized in 13 chapters. Five overriding concerns in the areas of health and health care are identified in Chapter One. Chapter Two focuses on the reduction of environmental risks; Chapter Three…

This first volume of the 1981 Report of the Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health presents the panel's major findings and recommendations in several areas of maternal and child health. Section I, the Introduction, addresses five major concerns related to health care that were identified by the panel. These concerns were (1) that programs…