This website is intended for healthcare professionals
This website is intended for healthcare professionals
Social adversity and poor maternal mental health during pregnancy can have long-term adverse effects on children's health, social, educational and economic outcomes (O'Connor et al, 2002; Olivier et...
Homebirth rates in England have been persistently low for more than 5 decades, with just 23% of women giving birth at home in 2013 (Office for National Statistics, 2014)
Unless they have gone to great lengths to avoid any news media in recent weeks, it is highly unlikely that anyone in the UK will be unaware of the current influx of refugees to Europe, primarily from...
Woman-centred care, person-centred care, relationship-based care, personalised care, the 6 Cs including compassionate care—these are all central values of modern maternity policy in the UK The words...
‘We can't change the past but this vaccine will change people's futures’ These were the words of Kelly Mellor, whose daughter contracted meningococcal disease when she was 11 months old, quoted in a...
The developing baby in the womb is completely dependent on its mother for its nutrient supply, so the quality of the maternal diet is extremely important During pregnancy, increased intake is required...
Rates of obesity worldwide have doubled in the past 30 years (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013) and obesity in the UK is reaching epidemic levels The Health and Social Care Information Centre...
There is no doubt breastfeeding is the gold standard of infant feeding There is extensive evidence of its nutritional benefits for the infant alongside health benefits for both the infant and the...
Perinatal depression has been defined as encompassing ‘major and minor depressive episodes that occur either during pregnancy or within the first 12 months after delivery’ (Gavin et al, 2005: 1071),...
The emergence of caesarean section by maternal request (CSMR) as a concept is closely related to a shift in the perception of childbirth from a physiological process to a medical one, as has occurred...
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the leading cause of direct maternal deaths in the UK (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), 2015) A report published by MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and...
In May 1847, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818–1865) showed by experiment that handwashing could prevent infections (Noakes et al, 2008) He instigated a hand-washing regime at the maternity clinic of the...
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