Each year in the U.S., hundreds of individuals die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, and tens of thousands experience unexpected outcomes such as heart failure. In 2022, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that research showed more than half of rural counties lacked hospital-based services for pregnant…

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of follow-up care and health counselling provided by midwives and nurses in maternal-infant attachment level and relationships between sociodemographic factors. The study was designed as a quasi-experimental pattern with a control group on pretest-posttest. The sample size was determined…

Objective: To assess the knowledge of nurse-midwife educators on the major causes of maternal mortality in Nigeria. Setting: Schools of nursing and midwifery in Nigeria. Method: A total of 292 educators from 171 schools of nursing and midwifery in Nigeria were surveyed for their knowledge of the major causes of maternal mortality as a prelude to…

Background: Adverse birth outcomes are more common among adolescent versus adult mothers, but little is known about school-based services that may improve birth outcomes in this group. Methods: Data from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were analyzed. Girls and women who gave birth to singleton live infants…

In this study we analyze whether immigrant mothers in Norway can influence their mode of delivery. Patient preferences were measured as the rate of Caesarean section from their home country, and by a survey question measuring the extent to which people believe they have freedom of choice and control over their lives in their home country.…

Many healthy human experiences and practices have become medicalized and professionalized within health during the past century. In the example used in this article, the legitimation of formal, "evidence-based" scientific knowledge about parenting within nursing and midwifery can have the effect of replacing and discrediting embodied, informal and…

Context: Pregnant women in rural areas may give birth in either rural or urban hospitals. Differences in outcomes between rural and urban hospitals may influence patient decision making. Purpose: Trends in rural and urban obstetric deliveries and neonatal and maternal mortality in California were compared to inform policy development and patient…

Recognizing the importance of health care during the perinatal period, the topic for this issue of "Children in the Tropics" is prenatal development; this issue is intended for health educators for use in educating their clients about prenatal development, health care during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the needs of the mother and…

Provides cultural background relevant for the delivery of health services to expectant Navajo women and their offspring including morbidity/mortality rates and trends and prevalent health problems. Reports results of a questionnaire administered to 479 expectant Navajo women and used to identify cultural practices distinguishing among traditional,…

Discusses health care services received by pregnant women and infants, exploring the ways that these services affect child health outcomes, specifically low birth weight and infant mortality rate. Programs that offer the greatest potential to improve newborn survival with the least investment should have high priority. (SLD)

Summarizes the private health insurance market, focusing on recent trends. Efforts should be made to preserve the current private health insurance system through comprehensive reforms that reduce cost and shift from public programs; control costs by competition, managed care, and global spending limits; and guarantee coverage for all groups. (SLD)

Reviews evidence about health care resources currently available to children and pregnant women in the United States. Evidence suggests that the maldistribution of resources remains a serious threat to health care access for women and children at greatest risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and child morbidity and mortality. (SLD)