The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on postnatal depression: analysis of three population-based national maternity surveys in England (2014–2020)
by Harrison, S. et al.This analysis indicates that Covid-19 had an important negative impact on postnatal women's mental health and may have accelerated an existing trend of increasing prevalence of postnatal depression. Risk factors for postnatal depression were consistent before and during the pandemic. Timely identification, intervention and follow-up are key to supporting women at risk, and it is essential that mechanisms to support women are strengthened during times of heightened risk such as the pandemic.
Disparities in who is asked about their perinatal mental health: an analysis of cross-sectional data from consecutive national maternity surveys
by Harrison, S. et al.The aim of this study was to assess the proportions of women who reported being asked about their mental health during the perinatal period across consecutive national maternity surveys (NMS) in England and to evaluate sociodemographic disparities in who was asked. Despite the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations, many women are still not asked about their mental health during the perinatal period, particularly after giving birth. Women from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to be asked and these disparities have persisted over time.
Can allostatic load in pregnancy explain the association between race and subsequent cardiovascular disease risk: A cohort study
by Lueth, A.J. et al.The objective of the study was to assess the relationship between allostatic load, a measure of cumulative chronic stress in early pregnancy and cardiovascular disease risk, 2-7 years postpartum, and pathways contributing to racial disparities in cardiovascular disease risk. Findings suggest that high allostatic load during pregnancy is associated with cardiovascular disease risk. The relationships between stress, subsequent cardiovascular risk and race warrant further study.
Risk of adverse perinatal outcomes among women with pharmacologically treated and untreated depression during pregnancy: A retrospective cohort study
by Adhikari et alThis study examined the risks of adverse perinatal outcomes associated with antidepressant use during pregnancy. Both depression and antidepressant use were independently associated with the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes; however, the risk associated with antidepressants was higher over and above the risk associated with depression. This may reflect the biological effects of antidepressants, greater severity of depression in those treated, or both.
In this podcast Dr Jacob McKnight talks about his experiences in neonatal nursing delivery and research in Kenya.
Obstetric fistula is an important global health issue that negatively affects the lives of countless women, and the team highlight what can be done to prevent and treat fistula.
The use of routine case record data to evaluate quality of inpatient hospital care in Kenya
by The Editorial TeamQuality of care assessment is one of the ways of evaluating what the health system is providing, however, such monitoring depends on an ability to measure quality with the availability of high quality data.
In celebration of Global Health Trials' fifth birthday (May 11th 2015) Professor Trudie Lang, Principal Investigator of the programme, talks to us about why Global Health Trials was started, why people should share their experience, and what the future holds.
This series of five papers assesses and summarizes information from relevant systematic reviews on the impact of various approaches to improve the quality of care for women and newborns.
In 2013, the WHO released a new set of guidelines on the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS. The new guidelines suggests that all pregnant women who test positive for HIV should immediately begin a course of triple ARVs, regardless of CD4 cell levels.
Grand Challenges: Integrating Maternal Mental Health into Maternal and Child Health Programmes
by Jai K DasIntegrating maternal mental health care will help advance maternal and child health (MCH) status. This paper is the second in a series of five articles providing a global perspective on integrating mental health.
The PLOS Medicine “Measuring Coverage in MNCH” Collection of research studies and reviews presents systematic assessments of the validity of health intervention coverage measurement based on household surveys, the primary method for estimating population-level intervention coverage in low- and middle-income countries. This is the second paper of the collection. It focuses on the development of the indicators and standard measurement tools that are needed to measure coverage of key newborn interventions.