Maternity blues and postpartum depression are common mental health problems during the early postpartum period. However, few studies have examined the factors associated with maternity blues and postpartum depression in healthy mothers with spontaneous births of healthy full-term infants. This study aimed to determine the demographic and obstetric factors, various feelings during pregnancy, and...

There is a lack of systematic evidence concerning health orientation in maternity practice in the current climate of risk avoidance. The midwifery professional project is orientated toward the preservation of normal physiological processes during the maternity episode. This study investigates accounts of midwives who were working in health-orientated birth settings, to examine if and how they f...

This paper investigates the effects of a large-scale paid maternity leave program on birth outcomes in the United States. In 1978, states with Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) programs were required to start providing wage replacement benefits to pregnant women, substantially increasing access to antenatal and postnatal paid leave for working mothers. Using natality data, I find that TDI pa...

As Central Government, Hospital, and Local Government Health Services are now developing simultaneously in Northern Ireland (surely a somewhat unique circumstance), it might be deemed a suitable time for this study of preventive practice in midwifery. And it might be asked-Can there be a lot to talk about? We have first-class teaching maternity hospitals in Belfast, with an extremely low matern...

Introduction A quarter of all births in the UK are to mothers born outside the UK. There is also evidence that immigrant women have higher maternal and infant death rates and of inequalities in the provision and uptake of maternity services/birth centres. The topic is of great significance to the National Health Service because of directives that address inequalities and the changing patterns o...

Despite the continued increase in female participation rates, Australia remains one of only two developed nations in the world without a paid maternity leave scheme. While research interest and public policy debate about paid maternity leave entitlements continues, little is known about the actual utilization of the 52 weeks unpaid parental leave that is currently available to all employees. Mo...

OBJECTIVE To describe the prevalence of maternity and paternity among subjects and its association with perinatal, socioeconomic and demographic variables. METHODS The participants were youth, aged 23, on the average, accompanied in a cohort study since they were born, in 1982, in Pelotas (Southern Brazil) and interviewed in 2004-5. Those who were considered eligible referred having had one o...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the support offered by maternity hospitals is associated with higher prevalences of exclusive and predominant breastfeeding. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study including a representative sample of 916 infants less than six months who were born in maternity hospitals, in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, 2011. The maternity hospitals were evalua...

BACKGROUND Instruments to assess quality of maternity care in Central and Eastern European (CEE) region are scarce, despite reports of poor doctor-patient communication, non-evidence-based care, and informal cash payments. We validated and tested an online questionnaire to study maternity care experiences among Hungarian women. METHODS Following literature review, we collated validated items ...