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Background: Pilates has growing appeal to pregnant women, as a form of exercise and relaxation. It is purported to benefit lumbo-pelvic stability, as well as motor control, strength and endurance. Some suggest that modified Pilates exercises may assist low risk pregnant women to enjoy a healthier pregnancy and prepare for the physical demands of labour and birth. The feasibility and safety of Pilates during pregnancy is poorly understood. We describe the protocol for a feasibility study designed to compare a midwife-led 6-week community-based Pilates intervention with standard antenatal care., Methods: A convenience sample of 30 low-risk pregnant women will be recruited from private obstetric clinics in Melbourne, Australia. Participants shall be randomly allocated to a six-week, 1-h weekly Pilates exercises group session or to usual care. The Pilates exercise class will have a warm-up phase, Pilates exercises, breathing exercises, and a cool down phase. Exercises have been designed to prepare for active birth. The primary outcome will be feasibility of implementation, determined by recruitment, retention, adherence and safety. Secondary outcomes include women's health (quality of life, pain, mobility for daily activities, lower extremity performance, abdominal separation, continence) and labour and birth outcomes (duration of first stage and second stage labour, analgesia used, mode of birth). Validated questionnaires will include the Quality of life 12-item short form survey; Pregnancy Mobility Index, and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire. Lower extremity performance and abdominal separation will also be measured., Discussion: This trial will provide preliminary data regarding the feasibility and safety of Pilates exercise in healthy pregnant women. It will also provide preliminary outcome data used to inform the design of a future large scale, multi-centre RCT., Trial Registration: This clinical trial has been registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry 2016 (ACTRN12616000809437)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No potential conflict of interest is reported by the authors., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Simulation provides opportunities for midwifery students to enhance their performance in emergency situations. Neonatal resuscitation is one such emergency and its management is a major concern for midwifery students., Objectives: This project aimed to develop and evaluate a simulation exercise, for neonatal resuscitation, for 3rd year midwifery students., Design: A quantitative survey design was employed using questions from two previously validated questionnaires: (1.) Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning and (2.) the Clinical Teamwork Scale (CTS)., Setting: Australian university., Participants: 40 final year midwifery students were invited to participate and 36 agreed to take part in the project., Results: In pre-simulation questionnaires, students reported low levels of confidence in initiating care of an infant requiring resuscitation. Most anticipated that the simulation exercise would be useful to better prepare them respond to a neonatal emergency. Post-simulation questionnaires reported an increase in student confidence, with 30 of 36 students agreeing/ strongly agreeing that their confidence levels had improved. Nonetheless, an unexpected number of students reported a lack of familiarity with the equipment., Conclusions: The single simulation exercise evaluated in this project resulted in improved student confidence and greater knowledge and skills in neonatal resuscitation. However, deficits in handling emergency equipment, and in understanding the role of the student midwife/midwife in neonatal resuscitation, were also noted. For the future, the development and evaluation of a programme of simulation exercises, over a longer period, is warranted. This approach may reduce stress and better address student learning needs., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)