Healthcare Professional Training Regarding Gestational Weight Gain: Recommendations and Future Directions

Purpose of review The aim of this review was to summarise recent evaluations of healthcare professional training regarding gestational weight gain and provide recommendations for future training. Recent findings A number of evaluated healthcare professional training sessions regarding gestational weight gain show promising results in terms of increased participant confidence and knowledge and impact on women’s outcomes. It is clear that the interventions which have also implemented resources in the practice environment to support training are the ones most likely to influence gestational weight gain. Summary Support from healthcare professionals are key to influence pregnant women’s weight gain and should be offered within the standard curriculum and through mandatory training. Factors influencing this support include women’s and healthcare professional characteristics, interpersonal and healthcare system and policy factors. All of these need to be considered when developing healthcare professional training to support women with their gestational weight gain

A core outcome set for pre‐eclampsia research: an international consensus development study

Objective To develop a core outcome set for pre‐eclampsia. Design Consensus development study. Setting International. Population Two hundred and eight‐one healthcare professionals, 41 researchers and 110 patients, representing 56 countries, participated. Methods Modified Delphi method and Modified Nominal Group Technique. Results A long‐list of 116 potential core outcomes was developed by combining the outcomes reported in 79 pre‐eclampsia trials with those derived from thematic analysis of 30 in‐depth interviews of women with lived experience of pre‐eclampsia. Forty‐seven consensus outcomes were identified from the Delphi process following which 14 maternal and eight offspring core outcomes were agreed at the consensus development meeting. Maternal core outcomes: death, eclampsia, stroke, cortical blindness, retinal detachment, pulmonary oedema, acute kidney injury, liver haematoma or rupture, abruption, postpartum haemorrhage, raised liver enzymes, low platelets, admission to intensive care required, and intubation and ventilation. Offspring core outcomes: stillbirth, gestational age at delivery, birthweight, small‐for‐gestational‐age, neonatal mortality, seizures, admission to neonatal unit required and respiratory support. Conclusions The core outcome set for pre‐eclampsia should underpin future randomised trials and systematic reviews. Such implementation should ensure that future research holds the necessary reach and relevance to inform clinical practice, enhance women's care and improve the outcomes of pregnant women and their babies

The Influence of Back Pain and Urinary Incontinence on Daily Tasks of Mothers at 12 Months Postpartum.

The present study examined back pain (BP) and/or urinary incontinence (UI) impact on the ability to perform daily tasks at 12 months after childbirth in healthy reproductive women who sought maternity care in community based family practice clinics.This study is a secondary analysis from the All Our Babies Study, a prospective, community-based pregnancy cohort in Calgary, Alberta. Maternal self-reported information on demographics, lifestyle, experiences with pregnancy and childbirth, occurrence of BP, UI and consequent impairment of daily tasks were collected by questionnaires administered before 25 weeks, at 34-36 weeks gestation and at 4 and 12 months postpartum. The occurrence and severity of BP and UI at one year after childbirth was assessed using descriptive and bivariate analyses. Logistic regression models examined the association between demographic and obstetrical variables and the severity of functional impairment due to UI and BP.From 1574 women with singleton pregnancies included in the study, 1212 (77%) experienced BP, 773 (49%) UI, and 620 (40%) both BP and UI. From the 821 women reporting impairment of daily tasks due to BP, 199 (24 %) were moderately and 90 (11%) severely affected with the remainder, 532 (64%) being mildly affected. From 267 women with functional impairment due to UI, 52 (19%) reported moderately to severe impairment in their ability to perform daily tasks. Obesity and parity were risk factors for impairment of daily functioning due to BP, whereas obesity and vaginal delivery increased the risk of moderate to severe impairment due to UI.BP and UI are common occurrences 1 year after childbirth. Maternal performance of daily tasks and women's health and quality of life are more often impaired due to BP than UI. Our study brings new evidence of the risk factors that predict severity and impact of these conditions on women functioning at 12 months postpartum

Characteristics of the study participants (N = 1574).

<p>¹The education categories included: for the High school category: some high school, graduated high school, some post-secondary, and for the Post-secondary category: graduated post-secondary, some graduate school, or completed graduate school</p><p>²Pregnancy complications included at least one of the following: pregnancy induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, placental abruption, gestational diabetes, or placenta praevia)</p><p>Characteristics of the study participants (N = 1574).</p