Introduction Non-Hispanic Black women and their infants experience the worst pregnancy-related outcomes in the United States. Social safety is a health-relevant resource found in environments communicating safety, connectedness, inclusion, and protection. Approaches promoting social safety may be particularly relevant to preventing adverse perinatal health outcomes among Black women. However, there remains a lack of conceptual clarity. The purpose of this concept analysis was to provide a theoretical clarification of the concept social safety for Black women within perinatal health care. Metho ..read more

Journal of Midwifery &Women's Health, EarlyView ..read more

Journal of Midwifery &Women's Health, EarlyView ..read more

Abstract Hyperlipidemia incidence is on the rise and lifestyle behavior change is the first-line therapy. Left untreated, hyperlipidemia can result in cardiovascular disease leading to increased morbidity and mortality in persons worldwide. Evidence has demonstrated behavioral changes such as increased exercise, healthy nutrition, smoking cessation, alcohol abstinence, and other lifestyle modification interventions significantly decrease the incidence and severity of hyperlipidemia. The purpose of this article is to review the evidence of lifestyle interventions in preventing and managing hype ..read more

Introduction A variety of labor pain management options is essential to patients and their care providers. Inhaled, patient controlled nitrous oxide (N2O) is a valuable addition to these options. The purpose of this study was to examine laboring patient, newborn, and provider characteristics associated with N2O use for pain relief in labor and to examine the association between N2O, conversion to neuraxial analgesia, and cesarean birth. Methods This was a retrospective observational cohort study of the first year of N2O use in one large academic medical center. Patients at least 37 weeks’ gest ..read more

Introduction People with unintended pregnancies might be at increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes due to structural factors, distress, or delayed prenatal care. Existing studies addressing this association yielded inconsistent findings. Using contemporary data from a large Dutch midwifery care registry, we investigated the association between unintended pregnancy ending in birth and neonatal outcomes, parental morbidity, and obstetric interventions. We extend previous research by exploring whether delayed initiation of prenatal care mediates these associations. Method This study used da ..read more

Journal of Midwifery &Women's Health, Volume 69, Issue 2, Page 173-177, March/April 2024 ..read more

Introduction There are striking disparities in perinatal health outcomes for Black women in the United States. Although the causes are multifactorial, research findings have increasingly identified social and structural determinants of health as contributors to perinatal disparities. Maltreatment during perinatal care, which is disproportionately experienced by Black women, may be one such contributor. Qualitative researchers have explored Black women's perinatal care experiences, but childbirth experience data has yet to be analyzed in-depth across studies. The aim of this meta-synthesis was ..read more

Introduction Black women face poor maternal health outcomes including being over 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than White women. Yet the lived experience of how these women self-advocate has not been clearly explored. The goal of this cross-sectional qualitative study was to describe the lived experiences of Black women advocating for their needs and priorities during the perinatal period. Methods Between January and October of 2022, we recruited Black women from obstetric clinics, research registries, and community advocacy groups who were either in their third trime ..read more

Journal of Midwifery &Women's Health, EarlyView ..read more