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Background/Aims: Neonatal jaundice is a common cause of hospitalisation. This study aimed to identify maternal and neonatal factors associated with neonatal jaundice among hospitalised neonates in north Jordan. Methods: This was a case control study involving 312 mothers and their neonates (106 cases, 206 controls), recruited from two governmental hospitals in north Jordan. A structured interview was used to collect data. Neonatal medical records were accessed for clinical data. Results: Maternal factors associated with higher risk of jaundice included having higher education, being employed and having had a caesarean section. Neonatal factors associated with higher risk of jaundice included being preterm, receiving <5 feeds per day and having ABO incompatibility. Conclusions: Using evidence-based guidelines for the assessment and management of risk factors helps to reduce the prevalence of jaundice requiring hospitalisation among neonates. Raising mothers' awareness of neonatal jaundice through interventions and education sessions during antenatal care, in particular for high-risk mothers, is also likely to help reduce its prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Childbirth is an important and unique event for mothers and families, but can cause fear and anxiety. All mothers have the right to adequate support for labour and a respectful birth. This study aimed to investigate the impact of supportive intrapartum care on women's perceptions of fear, pain and control during childbirth, as compared to routine care. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Jordan University Hospital with 134 pregnant women between August 2019 and January 2020. Participants were assigned to either the intervention (n=65) or control group (n=69). Data were collected using a sociodemographic form, a visual analogue scale for pain, the Wijma delivery expectancy questionnaire (B) for fear during birth, and the perceived support and control in birth scale. Results: Women receiving supportive care reported lower pain scores during the latent (t=4.15, P<0.001), active (t=4.64, P<0.001) and transition (t=2.34, P<0.05) phases of labour, less fear (t=8.66, P<0.001), and higher perceived control (t=12.46, P<0.001) and support (t=10.54, P<0.001), and had a shorter labour (t=10.367, P<0.001) compared to women receiving routine care. Low control (β=-0.35), high levels of pain (β=0.20) and low support (β=-0.19) contributed to fear during childbirth. Conclusions: Supportive intrapartum care decreased women's perceptions of pain and fear and improved perceptions of control and support. Training and support for midwives could be translated to similar settings in middle-income countries. Policies directed at routine implementation of supportive intrapartum care are essential to decrease pain and fear of childbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim and Objective: This study investigated the effects of social support, parenting stress and maternal self‐efficacy on postpartum depression among adolescent mothers in Jordan. Background: Adolescent pregnancy may have serious health, social and economic consequences for young women, families and communities. In Jordan, the incidence of adolescent pregnancy has increased from 5% in 2012 to 15% in 2018. Little attention has been given to postpartum depression among adolescent mothers in Arab and Middle Eastern countries. Method: In a cross‐sectional design using convenience sampling, 200 women aged less than 20 years, six to eight weeks postpartum and who could speak and read Arabic were interviewed in a participating health clinic. The interview occurred before or after a woman's scheduled clinic appointment and included socio‐demographic data, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Maternity Social Support Scale (MSSS), Parenting Stress Scale (PSS) and Perceived Self‐efficacy Scale (PSES). Data collection took place between December of 2018 and April of 2019. Reporting followed the STROBE guidelines. Results: Results revealed that 28.5% of adolescent mothers had probable postpartum depression. Mothers who reported high social support, high parenting stress, low self‐efficacy, financial stress and marital conflict had significantly higher EPDS scores than those who did not report these stressors. Conclusion: Prevalence of postpartum depression reported in this study warrants immediate action on early assessment, detection and intervention. High levels of social support may feel overwhelming for young mothers and contribute to high parenting stress, low maternal self‐efficacy and marital conflict. Relevance to clinical practice: Adolescent mothers are at increased risk of PPD compared to mothers over 20 years of age. Perceived quality rather than availability of social support needs to be considered. Young mothers require education and early intervention prevention strategies to better prepared them for motherhood and manage stressors associated with their changing social role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postnatal anxiety is relatively common when transitioning to parenthood; however, there are relatively few studies assessing postnatal anxiety in Middle Eastern women. Aim: To identify the prevalence of postnatal anxiety among Jordanian women and associated sociocultural factors. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used with 324 women. Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) and Maternity Social Support Scale at 6-8 weeks postpartum in addition to a sociodemographic data form. Findings: Some 45.4% of women scored above 'mild' on the DASS scale. Postnatal anxiety was significantly associated with low levels of support, giving birth to a female baby, financial difficulties, and having four or more children. Findings revealed a high level of postnatal anxiety among Jordanian women. Conclusion: There is a need for routine assessment, ongoing support, counselling and emotional care, which are important to enhance maternal satisfaction and psychological wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postpartum depression (PPD) is recognized as a common maternal health problem, but few studies have investigated the postpartum mental health of refugee women. In this cross‐sectional study, we investigated the prevalence of PPD symptoms and associated factors among Syrian refugee women living in north Jordan. Women (N = 365) were recruited from four health care centers in Ramtha and Jarash, cities in northern Jordan. Participants completed a demographic data form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Maternal Social Support Scale at 6–8 weeks postpartum. Half (49.6%; n = 181) of the Syrian refugee women scored >12 on the EPDS. PPD symptoms were significantly associated with low social support, low monthly income, and recent immigration (less than 2 years). There is a high level of PPD symptoms among Syrian refugee women, many of whom are living in poverty and with limited social support. The results highlight the need for immediate action by governments to support childbearing refugee women with early screening for psychosocial risk and respond to women's physical and mental health, and social needs through interservice collaboration. Social support programs would meet an important need for these women, as would ongoing assessment by health professionals and early intervention for women who screen positive for PPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to explore the vitamin D status among a sample of Jordanian postpartum women and identify factors associated with vitamin D deficiency. A total of 171 postpartum women agreed to participate. Participants completed a questionnaire on factors related to vitamin D deficiency and provided a blood sample to assess their plasma vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels using DIA source Immuno-Assays S.A.Analysis: The majority of women (76%, n = 130) had vitamin D deficiency and 24% (n = 41) of participants had vitamin D insufficiency. Factors associated with vitamin D deficiency were younger age (< 30 years), low education level, unemployment, multiparity, lactation, dress style, limited sunlight exposure, high BMI, dark skin colour and lack of multivitamin use. Vitamin D supplementation must be considered during pregnancy and lactation to prevent hypovitaminosis in both mother and baby. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention is important to reduce the prevalence of preterm births. Although prematurity has been well studied in developed countries, data from developing countries, such as Jordan, are still limited. This retrospective study analysed medical records to determine possible risk factors leading to preterm birth in the Irbid governorate of Jordan. All preterm births during the year 2011 were reviewed. Abstracted data included mother's age and gravidity. Newborn information included gender, birthweight and gestational age at birth. A total of 647 singleton births were included. There were more females than males (54.9% vs. 45.1%), with 75.6% being the second child or more. Half the mothers (50.2%) were 25-35 years of age. Factors associated with preterm birth were male gender ( P = 0.008), maternal age > 35 years ( P = 0.005) and first birth ( P = 0.003). Nurses need to provide support and education to mothers with potential risk about reproductive health and family planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in Jordanian midwives and identify associated factors., Design: Setting and participants: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 321 registered midwives from 18 public hospitals in Jordan that provide antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum care, and family planning services. The survey included the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and demographic and professional data forms., Findings: High rates of depression (76.2%); anxiety (85.3%) and stress (66.8%) symptoms were reported among midwives in Jordan. Midwives aged between 22 - 30 years reported more depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms than midwives in the other age groups. Married midwives had higher depression symptoms than single midwives. Midwives with < 10 years in practice had higher depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms compared to midwives with ≥ 10 years in practice. Midwives providing care for > 10 women per shift had higher anxiety and stress symptoms than midwives caring for five or less women per shift. Midwives who rotated between shifts had higher depression and stress symptoms than midwives who did not rotate., Conclusions: Rates of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms reported by Jordanian midwives were higher than rates reported by midwives in other countries. The high rates of distress highlight the urgent need for national strategies to support the emotional wellbeing and retention of midwives within Jordanian settings., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To compare Nepalese and Jordanian midwifery and nursing students' perceptions of respectful maternity care (RMC) and witnessing of disrespect and abuse; and determine factors that predict scores on a scale measuring perceptions of RMC., Design: A descriptive, comparative design was used., Setting: Recruitment took place from two medical colleges in Nepal and one University in Jordan., Methods: A convenience sample of students (n = 276) enrolled in a Bachelor or Diploma level midwifery or nursing degree who were undertaking or had recently completed their midwifery clinical placement were recruited. The online or hard copy survey included the Students' Perceptions of Respectful Maternity Care (SPRMC) Scale and nine questions on witnessing different types of disrespect and abuse., Findings: Nepalese students were slightly older (mean = 23.68 years) than Jordanian students (mean = 21.36). Mean duration of clinical placement was longer for Jordanian students (11.24 compared to 6.28 weeks). However, mean number of births observed was higher among Nepalese students (19.6 compared to 18.62). Overall, perceptions of RMC were more positive among Jordanian students (t (199.97) = 6.68, p < 0.001). A multiple regression analysis found that duration of clinical placement (beta = 0.22, p < 0.001), witnessing disrespect and abuse (beta = 0.11, p = 0.08) and age (beta = -0.14, p = 0.03) explained 12.2% of variance in SPMRC scores. Compared to students in Nepal, all Jordanian students had observed non-consented care during their clinical practicum. However, Nepalese students were more likely to observe poor adherence to women's privacy and confidentiality., Key Conclusion and Implications for Practice: This is the first study to compare midwifery and nursing students' perceptions of RMC across two middle-income countries. Although Jordanian students held more positive perceptions of RMC than those in Nepal, more had witnessed different forms of disrespect and abuse. Variations in students' perceptions of RMC and witnessing of abuse across countries highlight the need for assessment of workplace cultures to inform the development of tailored education and practice interventions for students, clinicians, and managers. Future research needs to explore how to best support students to consistently offer RMC and how to improve the experiences of childbearing women., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s)., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)