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Aims: To map the pathway and service provision for pregnant women whose newborns require admission into the surgical neonatal intensive care unit at or soon after birth, and to examine the nature of continuity of care (COC) provided and the facilitators and barriers to woman‐ and family‐centred care from the perspective of women/parents and health professionals. Background: Limited research exists on current service and care pathways for families whose babies are diagnosed with congenital abnormality requiring surgery. Design: A mixed method sequential design adhering to EQUATOR guidelines for Good Reporting of a Mixed Methods Study. Methods: Data collection methods included: (1) a workshop with health professionals (n = 15), (2) retrospective maternal record review (n = 20), prospective maternal record review (17), (3) interviews with pregnant women given a prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly (n = 17) and (4) interviews with key health professionals (n = 7). Results/Findings: Participants perceived care delivered by state‐based services as problematic prior to admission into the high‐risk midwifery COC model. Once admitted to the high‐risk maternity team women described care 'like a breath of fresh air' with a 'contrast in support', where they felt supported in their decisions. Conclusion: This study highlights provision of COC, in particular relational continuity between health providers and women as essential to achieve optimal outcomes. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Provision of individualised COC offers an opportunity for perinatal services to reduce the negative consequences of pregnancy‐related stress associated with diagnosis of foetal anomaly. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public was involved in the design, analysis, preparation or writing of this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perinatal mental health disorders are one of the leading causes of maternal illness and suffering and care and services need to be well coordinated by an interprofessional team who are skilled in working collaboratively. The aim of this paper is to describe the design and evaluation of an innovative interprofessional education initiative to increase midwives and other health professional students' knowledge and skills in caring collaboratively for women with psychosocial issues in the perinatal period, including women experiencing domestic and family violence. The Psychosocial Interprofessional Perinatal Education workshop was designed for midwifery, psychology, social work and medical students. It provided a simulated learning experience with case studies based on real life situations. Students undertook pre and post surveys to measure changes in students' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration and their experiences of participating in the interprofessional simulation-based learning activity. Quantitative survey data were analysed using paired t-tests and a qualitative content analysis was undertaken on the open-ended questions in the survey. Comparison of pre and post surveys found students from all disciplines reported feeling more confident working interprofessionally following the workshop. The following categories were generated from analysis of the open ended survey data: Greater understanding of each others' roles; Recognising benefits of interprofessional collaboration; Building on sense of professional identity; Respecting each other and creating a level playing field; and Filling a pedagogical gap. Through this innovative, simulated interprofessional education workshop students developed skills essential for future collaborative practice to support women and families experiencing psychosocial distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to explore fathers' perceptions and experiences of support in the perinatal period. Change in society has seen the increased visibility of fathers being involved during pregnancy and engaging in their infants' lives and the expectation and benefits of men playing an equal and direct role in caring for their children. However, less is known about the nature of support that fathers require to facilitate this role transition. Design: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with Arksey and O'Malley's six‐step scoping review framework and the PRISMA‐ScR guidelines. Methods: A systematic search of CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Psychology, Soc INDEX and Behavioural Sciences Collections databases for qualitative or mixed methods studies with qualitative data was undertaken. Qualitative data were extracted from original studies for coding and theme generation. Thematic synthesis was employed for the final stages of analysis. Results: Overall, 23 papers were included. Men desired to fulfil their rite of passage to be an involved father to their child. This transitional process commenced with men articulating their commitment to creating a role as an involved father and to be a role model for their children. Becoming a father is seen as having a significant status in society which contributes to their self‐efficacy as fathers. Conclusion: Fathers require support from all levels of the 'ecosystem' including policy, socio‐cultural and workplace changes as well as recognition and support from partners, family, peers and in particular from health service providers. Developing the parenting partnership requires a co‐production approach and commitment at macro, meso and micro levels. Relevance to clinical practice: Supporting men to be engaged fathers requires policy, socio‐cultural and workplace changes; however, maternity services and particularly midwives have an important role in this change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The primary aim of the review was to provide an overall assessment of residential parenting services in Australia, by describing the characteristics of infants and parents using residential parenting services, their prior service use and reasons for admission, referral pathways for access and parenting and infant outcomes. The secondary aims were to explore parent and staff perception of the programmes. Design: An integrative literature review. Methods: A systematic and comprehensive search of health and social sciences databases was conducted for studies related to residential parenting services (published between 1st January 1990–31st December 2019). Six hundred and eleven peer‐reviewed papers were identified, after which 301 duplicates were removed and an additional 256 papers excluded after titles/abstracts were read. Of the remaining 54 abstracts/papers, a further 14 were omitted as not relevant. Forty papers were independently reviewed by four authors. ENTREQ and MOOSE checklists were applied. Results: Thirty studies were quantitative, nine were qualitative, and one was mixed methods. All studies originated from in Australia. Women and babies admitted to residential parenting services were found more likely to be: older, Australian born, from higher socio‐economic groups, and first‐time mothers, and having labour and birth interventions and a history of mental health disorders. The babies were more likely to be twins, male and admitted with sleep disorders and dysregulated behaviour. Studies reporting postintervention outcomes demonstrated improvements to maternal mental health, breastfeeding, parenting confidence and sleep quality, and infant sleeping and behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019 the Australian government released a guiding document for maternity care: Woman-centred care strategic directions for Australian maternity services (WCC Strategy), with mixed responses from providers and consumers. The aims of this paper were to: examine reasons behind reported dissatisfaction, and compare the WCC Strategy against similar international strategies/plans. The four guiding values in the WCC strategy: safety, respect, choice, and access were used to facilitate comparisons and provide recommendations to governments/health services enacting the plan. Maternity plans published in English from comparable high-income countries were reviewed. Eight maternity strategies/plans from 2011 to 2021 were included. There is an admirable focus in the WCC Strategy on respectful care, postnatal care, and culturally appropriate maternity models. Significant gaps in support for continuity of midwifery care and place of birth options were notable, despite robust evidence supporting both. In addition, clarity around women's right to make decisions about their care was lacking or contradictory in the majority of the strategies/plans. Addressing hierarchical, structure-based obstacles to regulation, policy, planning, service delivery models and funding mechanisms may be necessary to overcome concerns and barriers to implementation. We observed that countries where midwifery is more strongly embedded and autonomous, have guidelines recommending greater contributions from midwives. Maternity strategy/plans should be based on the best available evidence, with consistent and complementary recommendations. Within this framework, priority should be given to women's preferences and choices, rather than the interests of organisations and individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While continuity of care is a core element of high-quality maternity care, it is potentially even more important for pregnant women and their partners who are at risk of adverse health outcomes because of psychosocial vulnerability. However, little is known about how a coherent care journey can be ensured for women and families who may require interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral services during pregnancy and the postnatal period. To explore the role of continuity of care in creating a coherent care journey for vulnerable parents during pregnancy and the postnatal period. An ethnographic study conducted in Denmark based on interviews with, and field observations, of 26 mothers and 13 fathers receiving services due to mental health problems, young age, past substance abuse and/or adverse childhood experiences. Three key findings emerged: 1). Developing relationships allowed parents to know and feel known by care providers, which helped them feel secure and reach out for support. 2). Handover of information allowed parents to feel secure as their need for support was recognised by care providers; some parents, however, felt exposed when information was shared 3). Receiving relevant services allowed parents to have their needs for support addressed, which requires easy referral pathways and coordination of services. All forms of continuity of care should be prioritised in the organisation of maternity care services for women and families in vulnerable positions. While relational continuity is important, continuity of care must also reach across providers, sectors and services to ensure coherent care journeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]