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Pregnant women often turn to the internet as a primary source of pregnancy-related information. However, there is great concern about the accuracy of health-related information on the internet, making research on women's internet behaviours and decision-making critically important. Previous research has been conducted within a number of distinct but related fields, yet existing review papers have often failed to connect across the various disciplines. This review aims to synthesise the large and cross-disciplinary body of literature on women's health information-seeking internet behaviour regarding pregnancy and childbirth. A narrative literature review, which includes research from both health and social sciences, was conducted. Findings address the 'who, where, what, why, and how' of information-seeking behaviour on the internet, with suggestions for future research in each area further discussed. Additional research which addresses the remaining gaps in the literature can help providers be more aware of their patients' informational needs. Providers can be an important source of information, while also helping guide their patients on how to evaluate information. Enhanced patient portals and communication platforms can help to provide more timely and reliable information. Providing their patients with guides can be important for fostering enhanced health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up to 39% of women who experience perinatal bereavement proceed to develop Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD), with this large proportion meriting treatment. Before setting-up a treatment service for postnatal women who are experiencing psychological trauma, it is important to identify what therapies have been used in-the-past to address this problem. To scope for research that has implemented therapies to treat psychological trauma post perinatal bereavement, for potential inclusion in a flexible treatment package. A scoping review mapped coverage, range, and type of research that has reported on prior therapies used to treat psychological trauma post perinatal bereavement. Due to the dearth of papers that directly addressed perinatal bereavement, we widened the scope of the review to view what treatments had been used to treat psychological trauma post-childbirth. Out of 23 studies that report on effectiveness of therapies used to treat psychological trauma post-childbirth, only 4-focused upon treating PTSD post perinatal bereavement (3 effective/1 ineffective). Successful treatments were reported by Kersting et al. (2013), who found CBT effective at reducing PTSD symptoms post-miscarriage, termination for medical reasons, and stillbirth (n = 33 & n = 115), and Navidian et al. (2s017)) found that 4-sessions of grief-counselling reduced trauma symptoms post-stillbirth in (n = 50) women. One study by Huberty et al. (2020found on-line yoga to be ineffective at reducing PTSD symptoms post-stillbirth. A dearth of research has explored effectiveness of therapies for treating psychological trauma post perinatal bereavement and post-childbirth, with need to develop and test a research informed flexible counselling package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postnatal depression (PND) is a key cause of maternal morbidity, with current systems of initial recognition in the UK detecting only 50% of cases. In attempts to predict those potentially at risk, this review suggests a novel approach. Aim: Implementing the concept of 'ideal mother' versus 'real mother', and asking the woman to compare their 'ideal self' against 'existent self', the aim of this instrument development review was to determine themes from the literature that relate to women's perceptions of self as a mother, and from this identification develop questions for inclusion within a proposed new measure entitled the Self-Image as Mother Scale (SIMS). Method: A scoping review of the literature was carried out to identify themes considered to affect perception of self as mother, and from this identification, evidence-based questions for inclusion in the SIMS were developed. Findings: Themes identified included (1) marital dissatisfaction, (2) inadequate partner support, (3) lack of family support, (4) socioeconomic status and associated poverty, (5) concern about infant, (6) antenatal/postnatal complications, (7) acceptance of infant gender, (8) history of mental health problems, (9) unplanned pregnancy. Conclusions: From this scoping review 18 questions were developed for inclusion in the SIMS, which will then be evaluated for psychometric properties, scale refinement and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Investigate the use of resilience theories in the transition to parenthood literature. Background: The transition to parenthood is a key developmental experience for many adults. Resilience is a unifying theoretical concept which incorporates many of the skills and resources linked with the transition to parenthood, but the uptake of resilience theory in this literature is unknown. Methods: We used a scoping review to examine the use of resilience theory in published transition to parenthood research. This included a systematic search of the literature, descriptive analysis of theories and methods used and an assessment of theoretical integration. Results: We identified 17 studies which met inclusion criteria. Explicit use of theory occurred in six studies and quality of theoretical integration was high for all of these. Resilience was seen as a desirable concept for mapping complex data, taking a holistic approach to psychological health and acknowledging environmental and systemic influences. We also identified 29 resilience supporting factors including positive self-concept, optimism, social support, family relationships, community services and social connectedness. Conclusion: Resilience is a useful concept for synthesising information about the transition to parenthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]