AIM This paper is a report of a study to explore the needs of first-time fathers in relation to the care, support and education provided by healthcare professionals during the antenatal period, particularly in relation to preparing them for the transition to fatherhood. BACKGROUND Pregnancy and transition to parenthood are major developmental periods within families throughout the world. Prev...

BACKGROUND Breast feeding has several benefits for both the infants and mothers. However, despite strong evidences in support of breast feeding its prevalence has remained low worldwide. The objective of the present study was to examine the knowledge and attitude towards breast feeding and infant feeding practices among Indian postnatal mothers. METHODOLOGY A cross sectional descriptive study...

OBJECTIVE To determine if gravidas ages 35 years and older have greater conflict in adapting to pregnancy than do younger gravidas. DESIGN Static group comparison. SETTING Prenatal care facilities and prenatal education classes. PARTICIPANTS Sixty-four older gravidas (35 years and older) and 46 younger gravidas (32 years and younger) who were in their 3rd trimester of pregnancy. MAIN OU...

OBJECTIVE to explore the attitudes of first-time mothers towards antenatal education from the perspective of attenders and non-attenders. DESIGN a qualitative approach was utilised using focus group interviews to collect the data. SETTING the study was conducted in one local health office area of the Health Service Executive-South East, Ireland. PARTICIPANTS a purposive sample of first-ti...

BACKGROUND The aims of antenatal education contain both outcomes related to pregnancy, birth and parenthood. Both content and methods of antenatal education have changed over time without evidence of effects on relevant outcomes. The effect of antenatal education in groups, with participation of a small number of participants, may differ from the effect of other forms of antenatal education. Th...

This cross-sectional study evaluated knowledge and acceptability of prenatal diagnosis among 500 pregnant women at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Most participants were aged 25-34 years, self-employed, Muslim, monogamy, secondary school leavers, on income of < naira10,000.00 (US$ 67.00)/month. Attitudinal mean score was dependent on age (p = 0.006), educational attainment (p = 0.001),...

PURPOSE To explore Ghanaian pregnant women's understanding and recognition of danger signs in pregnancy, birth preparedness and complication readiness, and their understanding of newborn care. DESIGN An exploratory, qualitative study design was used. METHODS Data were gathered through six focus group discussions with 68 pregnant women attending antenatal care at a busy urban hospital in Gha...

BACKGROUND There is significant evidence to support the importance of prenatal care in preventing adverse outcomes such as preterm birth and low infant birth weight. Previous studies have indicated that the benefits of prenatal care are not evenly distributed throughout the social strata. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that among particular populations, rates of preterm birth are uncha...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Despite the benefits of maternal health services, these services are often underutilized, especially in the developing countries. The aim of the present study is to provide insight regarding factors affecting maternal health services use from the family perspective. METHODS We use data from the fourth National Health Services Survey in Jiangsu province of Eastern Chi...