A new scale for fear of childbirth: The Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire (FCQ)

Objective: To create a clear and acceptable measure of fear of childbirth with satisfactory content validity for use with English-speaking women in the UK. Background: Fear of childbirth (FOC) can have a significant impact on a woman’s view of her pregnancy, birth and her recovery post birth. Early identification is paramount to ensure that women’s needs are recognised so that appropriately tailored care can be provided in pregnancy. Availability of reliable and valid measures to assess FOC in an English-speaking population are sparse, mainly due to issues with definitions of FOC or cultural sensitivity after translation. Recent research from phase one of the Fear of Childbirth study (FOCUS), has established key elements for FOC in an English-speaking UK population, and allows for a culturally sensitive measure of FOC to be developed. The aim was to ensure inclusion of all ten FOC elements and to attend to guidance from women in phase two of the FOCUS study about what would ensure clarity and acceptability. Method: A multidisciplinary team developed items in accordance with FOCUS. The measure was then piloted with one reviewer and further refined by the team of perinatal researchers. Results: The FCQ is a new 20-item fear of childbirth questionnaire, which has been developed and is grounded in fears reported by women in the UK. Conclusion: A new tool to measure FOC in an English-speaking UK population with good content validity has undergone a preliminary phase of development and now needs testing for reliability and other forms of validity

Which events are experienced as traumatic by obstetricians and gynaecologists, and why? A qualitative analysis from a cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews

Objectives: To explore the events perceived as traumatic by obstetricians and gynaecologists (O&G), and to examine factors contributing to the perception of trauma.Design: Mixed methods: cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews.Sample and setting: Fellows, members and trainees of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).Methods: An online survey was distributed to 6300 fellows (May–June 2017), members and trainees of RCOG; 1095 (17%) completed surveys were returned. Of these, 728 (66%) reported work-related trauma experience, with 525 providing a brief description of an event. Forty-three participants with trauma experience were purposively sampled and completed an in-depth interview (October 2017–March 2018), which were analysed using Template Analysis. Information regarding the scale and impact of trauma experience is presented elsewhere. The present analysis provides new information describing the events and perceptions of why events were traumatic.Primary outcome measures: The nature of traumatic events in this clinical setting, taken from survey descriptions of perceived traumatic events and information from the in-depth interviews.Results: Events perceived as traumatic by O&G were similar between consultants, trainees and other RCOG members no longer working in O&G. Maternal or neonatal death/stillbirth, haemorrhage and events involving a difficult delivery were most frequently reported. Sudden and unpredictable events, perceived preventability, acute sensory experiences and high emotionality contributed to trauma perception. Respondents’ trauma was compounded by an absence of support, involvement in investigation procedures and pre-existing relationships with a recipient of care.Conclusions: Identification of events most likely to be perceived as traumatic, and wider circumstances contributing to the perception of trauma, provide a basis on which to focus preventative and supportive strategies for O&G. Training on the nature of traumatic events, self-help for early stress responses, processing support and rapid access to trauma-focused psychological input (where required) are needed

Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of COVID-19: The PAN-COVID study

Objective To assess perinatal outcomes for pregnancies affected by suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods Prospective, web-based registry. Pregnant women were invited to participate if they had suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1st January 2020 and 31st March 2021 to assess the impact of infection on maternal and perinatal outcomes including miscarriage, stillbirth, fetal growth restriction, pre-term birth and transmission to the infant. Results Between April 2020 and March 2021, the study recruited 8239 participants who had suspected or confirmed SARs-CoV-2 infection episodes in pregnancy between January 2020 and March 2021. Maternal death affected 14/8197 (0.2%) participants, 176/8187 (2.2%) of participants required ventilatory support. Pre-eclampsia affected 389/8189 (4.8%) participants, eclampsia was reported in 40/ 8024 (0.5%) of all participants. Stillbirth affected 35/8187 (0.4 %) participants. In participants delivering within 2 weeks of delivery 21/2686 (0.8 %) were affected by stillbirth compared with 8/4596 (0.2 %) delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection (95 % CI 0.3–1.0). SGA affected 744/7696 (9.3 %) of livebirths, FGR affected 360/8175 (4.4 %) of all pregnancies. Pre-term birth occurred in 922/8066 (11.5%), the majority of these were indicated pre-term births, 220/7987 (2.8%) participants experienced spontaneous pre-term births. Early neonatal deaths affected 11/8050 livebirths. Of all neonates, 80/7993 (1.0%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions Infection was associated with indicated pre-term birth, most commonly for fetal compromise. The overall proportions of women affected by SGA and FGR were not higher than expected, however there was the proportion affected by stillbirth in participants delivering within 2 weeks of infection was significantly higher than those delivering ≥ 2 weeks after infection. We suggest that clinicians’ threshold for delivery should be low if there are concerns with fetal movements or fetal heart rate monitoring in the time around infection

Which events are experienced as traumatic by obstetricians and gynaecologists, and why? A qualitative analysis from a cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews

ObjectivesTo explore the events perceived as traumatic by obstetricians and gynaecologists (O&G), and to examine factors contributing to the perception of trauma. DesignMixed methods: cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews.Sample and SettingFellows, members and trainees of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).MethodsAn online survey was distributed to 6300 fellows (May- June 2017), members and trainees of RCOG; 1095 (17%) completed surveys were returned. Of these, 728 (66%) reported work-related trauma experience, with 525 providing a brief description of an event. Forty-three participants with trauma experience were purposively sampled and completed an in-depth interview (October 2017- March 2018), which were analysed using Template Analysis. Information regarding the scale and impact of trauma experience is presented elsewhere. The present analysis provides new information describing the events and perceptions of why events were traumatic. Primary outcome measuresThe nature of traumatic events in this clinical setting, taken from survey descriptions of perceived traumatic events and information from the in-depth interviews. ResultsEvents perceived as traumatic by obstetricians and gynaecologists were similar between consultants, trainees and other RCOG members no longer working in O&G. Maternal or neonatal death/stillbirth, haemorrhage, and events involving a difficult delivery were most frequently reported. Sudden and unpredictable events, perceived preventability, acute sensory experiences, and high emotionality contributed to trauma perception. Respondents’ trauma was compounded by an absence of support, involvement in investigation procedures, and pre-existing relationships with a recipient of care. ConclusionsIdentification of events most likely to be perceived as traumatic, and wider circumstances contributing to the perception of trauma, provide a basis upon which to focus preventative and supportive strategies for obstetricians and gynaecologists. Training on the nature of traumatic events, self-help for early stress responses, processing support and rapid access to trauma-focused psychological input (where required) are needed

Which events are experienced as traumatic by obstetricians and gynaecologists, and why? A qualitative analysis from a cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews

Objectives: To explore the events perceived as traumatic by obstetricians and gynaecologists (O&G), and to examine factors contributing to the perception of trauma.Design: Mixed methods: cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews.Sample and setting: Fellows, members and trainees of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).Methods: An online survey was distributed to 6300 fellows (May–June 2017), members and trainees of RCOG; 1095 (17%) completed surveys were returned. Of these, 728 (66%) reported work-related trauma experience, with 525 providing a brief description of an event. Forty-three participants with trauma experience were purposively sampled and completed an in-depth interview (October 2017–March 2018), which were analysed using Template Analysis. Information regarding the scale and impact of trauma experience is presented elsewhere. The present analysis provides new information describing the events and perceptions of why events were traumatic.Primary outcome measures: The nature of traumatic events in this clinical setting, taken from survey descriptions of perceived traumatic events and information from the in-depth interviews.Results: Events perceived as traumatic by O&G were similar between consultants, trainees and other RCOG members no longer working in O&G. Maternal or neonatal death/stillbirth, haemorrhage and events involving a difficult delivery were most frequently reported. Sudden and unpredictable events, perceived preventability, acute sensory experiences and high emotionality contributed to trauma perception. Respondents’ trauma was compounded by an absence of support, involvement in investigation procedures and pre-existing relationships with a recipient of care.Conclusions: Identification of events most likely to be perceived as traumatic, and wider circumstances contributing to the perception of trauma, provide a basis on which to focus preventative and supportive strategies for O&G. Training on the nature of traumatic events, self-help for early stress responses, processing support and rapid access to trauma-focused psychological input (where required) are needed

Digital Youth: Towards a New Multidisciplinary Research Network

The workshop will discuss and reinterpret our collective understanding of the information-technology-people triad and accompanying concepts in order both to broaden and to sharpen the focus on Digital Youth. The workshop wants to break down walls, to cross disciplinary borders, and to establish dialogues among researchers across continents and LIS traditions in order to contribute to the development of LIS research communities. The goals of the workshop are: * to examine how Digital Youth can function as an overall research frame. * to establish dialogue and cooperation between and across disciplines and perspectives * to define the field so as to remain open to broader theoretical and methodological perspectives. * to provide a statement of purpose inviting other researchers to join the research initiative.publishedye

Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of COVID -19: coreporting of common outcomes from PAN-COVID and AAP-SONPM registries

Objective Few large cohort studies have reported data on maternal, fetal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection in pregnancy. We report the outcome of infected pregnancies from a collaboration formed early during the pandemic between the investigators of two registries, the UK and Global Pregnancy and Neonatal outcomes in COVID‐19 (PAN‐COVID) study and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Neonatal–Perinatal Medicine (SONPM) National Perinatal COVID‐19 Registry. Methods This was an analysis of data from the PAN‐COVID registry (1 January to 25 July 2020), which includes pregnancies with suspected or confirmed maternal SARS‐CoV‐2 infection at any stage in pregnancy, and the AAP‐SONPM National Perinatal COVID‐19 registry (4 April to 8 August 2020), which includes pregnancies with positive maternal testing for SARS‐CoV‐2 from 14 days before delivery to 3 days after delivery. The registries collected data on maternal, fetal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes. The PAN‐COVID results are presented overall for pregnancies with suspected or confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and separately in those with confirmed infection. Results We report on 4005 pregnant women with suspected or confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection (1606 from PAN‐COVID and 2399 from AAP‐SONPM). For obstetric outcomes, in PAN‐COVID overall and in those with confirmed infection in PAN‐COVID and AAP‐SONPM, respectively, maternal death occurred in 0.5%, 0.5% and 0.2% of cases, early neonatal death in 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.3% of cases and stillbirth in 0.5%, 0.6% and 0.4% of cases. Delivery was preterm (< 37 weeks' gestation) in 12.0% of all women in PAN‐COVID, in 16.1% of those women with confirmed infection in PAN‐COVID and in 15.7% of women in AAP‐SONPM. Extreme preterm delivery (< 27 weeks' gestation) occurred in 0.5% of cases in PAN‐COVID and 0.3% in AAP‐SONPM. Neonatal SARS‐CoV‐2 infection was reported in 0.9% of all deliveries in PAN‐COVID overall, in 2.0% in those with confirmed infection in PAN‐COVID and in 1.8% in AAP‐SONPM; the proportions of neonates tested were 9.5%, 20.7% and 87.2%, respectively. The rates of a small‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA) neonate were 8.2% in PAN‐COVID overall, 9.7% in those with confirmed infection and 9.6% in AAP‐SONPM. Mean gestational‐age‐adjusted birth‐weight Z‐scores were −0.03 in PAN‐COVID and −0.18 in AAP‐SONPM. Conclusions The findings from the UK and USA registries of pregnancies with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were remarkably concordant. Preterm delivery affected a higher proportion of women than expected based on historical and contemporaneous national data. The proportions of pregnancies affected by stillbirth, a SGA infant or early neonatal death were comparable to those in historical and contemporaneous UK and USA data. Although maternal death was uncommon, the rate was higher than expected based on UK and USA population data, which is likely explained by underascertainment of women affected by milder or asymptomatic infection in pregnancy in the PAN‐COVID study, although not in the AAP‐SONPM study. The data presented support strong guidance for enhanced precautions to prevent SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in pregnancy, particularly in the context of increased risks of preterm delivery and maternal mortality, and for priority vaccination of pregnant women and women planning pregnancy. Copyright © 2021 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd