Ina May Gaskin, a traditional midwife and founder of The Farm Midwifery Center in Summertown, Tennessee, discusses how she first became involved in midwifery, where she learned her skills, the status of midwifery, and her future plans. Ms. Gaskin has been instrumental in the revolution of birth practices worldwide. (LP)

Argues that, for problem-based learning (PBL) to succeed, a sound program of staff development is required and describes the introduction of PBL into Nursing and Midwifery curricula at the University of Dundee (Scotland) including key components and evaluatory evidence to support its efficacy. (DB)

Objective: To minimize barriers to care, ameliorate antenatal depression, and prevent postpartum depression, we conducted a pilot study to assess the feasibility of providing brief interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-B) to depressed, pregnant patients on low incomes in an obstetrics and gynecological (OB/GYN) clinic. Method: Twelve pregnant,…

Although the military health care system is the second largest in the nation serving approximately 6,000,000 people, little research has examined military reproductive health care services or their quality. Medical services can be provided by regional military medical centers and by base infirmaries and dispensaries. Often base infirmaries and…

This case study was conducted to analyze the cost-effectiveness of nurse practitioners (NPs), physicians' assistants (PAs), and certified nurse midwives (CNMs) by examining (1) the contributions of each group in meeting health-care needs; (2) the effect of changing the method of payment for their services on the health-care delivery system; and…

A UCLA School of Medicine program compared the results of teaching obstectrics and pediatric neonatal medicine as a perinatal continuum with the results of the traditional separate clerkships and to assess the benefits and liabilities of the use of this integrated approach to teaching. (LBH)

Information used in a brief lecture that introduces a biomedical ethics curriculum in an obstetrics and gynecology residency is described. Major components include theories of philosophic ethics (formalist and consequentialist) and principles of biomedical ethics (honesty, contract-keeping, nonmaleficence, justice, autonomy, beneficence,…

A study investigated, first, the percentage of medical students maintaining interest in obstetrics/gynecology during medical school compared to those maintaining interest in other specialties and, second, changes of interest from obstetrics/gynecology to other specialties and other specialties to obstetrics/gynecology. Results indicate instability…

This study investigated the role of obstetric complications in determining phenotypic manifestations in tuberous sclerosis (TS), a disorder associated with autism spectrum disorders. Comparison of 43 children with TS and 40 unaffected siblings found children with TS experienced more obstetric complications, but these were related to mild rather…

This paper discusses the need for multi-cultural methodologies that develop knowledge about the maternity experience of migrant women and that are attuned to womens maternity-related requirements under multi-cultural conditions. Little is known about the transition to parenthood for mothers in a new country, particularly when the country is New…

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…

Adolescent childbearing is a major concern because of the associated negative health, social, and economic consequences. To determine whether teenagers are using organized family services to prevent unwanted pregnancies, the National Reporting System for Family Planning Services began in 1972 to collect information on family planning clinic…

Teenagers' utilization of family planning services is of major concern in view of the estimated 4.1 million adolescent females at risk, defined as fertile, sexually active teenagers who are not pregnant and who are not seeking to become pregnant. To obtain information regarding teenagers' use of medical family planning services in clinical…

In 1981, information on births of Hispanic parentage was available for 22 States. The completeness of reporting of Hispanic origin continued to increase, with somewhat greater improvements measured for origin of the mother than of the father. The fertility rate of the Hispanic population continued to be very high: 97.5 births per 1,000 women, aged…

The scripts of four programs of National Public Radio's Options in Education series are presented. The first program has sequences involving the use of high technology in childbirth. Interviews with doctors and expectant mothers explore the use and availability of electronic monitoring equipment in prenatal care. In the second program, the high…