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Women are the fastest growing population in federal prison in Canada. Women's incarceration has significant implications for families, as approximately two-thirds have children who face intergenerational trauma, risk of criminalization, and health concerns. The Correctional Services Canada Mother Child Program allows children up to age six to live with their incarcerated mothers. Publicly available information about outcomes associated with the program is scarce, including the number of participants. Using data from 2000–2020 acquired through an Access to Information and Privacy request, this article presents descriptive statistics about the program. Findings indicate the program is underused, and associated outcomes are under-researched.

ObjectiveTo determine the effectiveness of the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program on maternal self-efficacy, perceived social support, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression at six-weeks postpartum.MethodsParticipants from Nova Scotia were randomized, stratified by parity, to receive either the Essential Coaching for Every Mother postpartum text-message program or usual care, from birth to six-weeks postpartum. Participants completed surveys at enrollment (after birth) and at 6 weeks. Differences between groups were analyzed using analysis of covariance, considering parity and group allocation.ResultsOf the 171 participants recruited (53% primiparous), 150 completed the baseline survey (intervention n = 78, control n = 72). At baseline, newborns were on average 4.4 days old (SD: 3.9) and mothers 31.4 years old (SD: 4.5). Controlling for maternal age, primiparous women in the intervention group had a greater increase in maternal self-efficacy than primiparous women in the control group (mean difference [MD] = 4.84 (standard error [SE] = 0.75) vs. MD = 2.13 (SE = 0.81), p = 0.034). Women allocated to the intervention group had a greater reduction in postpartum anxiety symptoms than women in the control group for both multiparous and primiparous women (MD = −3.91 (SE = 1.82) vs. 2.81 (SE = 1.86), p = 0.011). There was no significant change in postpartum depression scores or perceived social support for either group.DiscussionThis study presents the results of the first Canadian postpartum text message program, which found improved psychosocial outcomes for postpartum women. Given the potential to reach numerous women at a low cost across geographical locations, the scalability of this intervention can improve maternal self-efficacy and reduce postpartum anxiety.

Age-friendly cities are crucial to achieve the WHO goal of healthy aging. Such cities promote opportunities for health, participation, and security, thus enhancing quality of life as people age. Older people commonly experience psychosocial challenges such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, loss of autonomy, grief, fear, and loneliness. Australian and Canadian cities continue to seek innovation to improve healthy urban aging and create more age-friendly environments for older adults. There is increasing evidence on the effectiveness and feasibility of mobile technology in health promotion and closing psychological treatment gaps. Older adults have been demonstrated to engage frequently with mobile devices, particularly text messaging. In this article, we conceptualize the Text4HealthyAging, an evidence-based text messaging innovation to support healthy urban aging in Canadian and Australian cities.

Postpartum education can save lives of mothers and babies in developing countries, and the World Health Organization recommends all mothers receive three postpartum consultations. More information is needed to better understand how postpartum education is delivered and ultimately improves postpartum health outcomes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how postpartum care was delivered in three postnatal hospital clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Semistructured interviews with 10 nurse-midwives and three obstetricians were conducted. Feminist poststructuralism guided the research process. Postpartum education was seen to be an urgent matter; there was a lack of supportive resources and infrastructure in the hospital clinics, and nurse-midwives and obstetricians had to negotiate conflicting health and traditional discourses using various strategies. Nurse-midwives and obstetricians are well positioned to deliver life-saving postpartum education; however, improvements are required including increased number of nurse-midwives and obstetricians.