The role and scope of practice of midwives in humanitarian settings:a systematic review and content analysis

Abstract Background Midwives have an essential role to play in preparing for and providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in humanitarian settings due to their unique knowledge and skills, position as frontline providers and geographic and social proximity to the communities they serve. There are considerable gaps in the international guidance that defines the scope of practice of midwives in crises, particularly for the mitigation and preparedness, and recovery phases. We undertook a systematic review to provide further clarification of this scope of practice and insights to optimise midwifery performance. The review aimed to determine what SRH services midwives are involved in delivering across the emergency management cycle in humanitarian contexts, and how they are working with other professionals to deliver health care. Methods Four electronic databases and the websites of 33 organisations were searched between January and March 2017. Papers were eligible for inclusion if they were published in English between 2007 and 2017 and reported primary research pertaining to the role of midwives in delivering and performing any component of sexual and/or reproductive health in humanitarian settings. Content analysis was used to map the study findings to the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for SRH across the three phases of the disaster management cycle and identify how midwives work with other members of the health care team. Results Fourteen studies from ten countries were included. Twelve studies were undertaken in conflict settings, and two were conducted in the context of the aftermath of natural disasters. We found a paucity of evidence from the research literature that examines the activities and roles undertaken by midwives across the disaster management cycle. This lack of evidence was more apparent during the mitigation and preparedness, and recovery phases than the response phase of the disaster management cycle. Conclusion Research-informed guidelines and strategies are required to better align the scope of practice of midwives with the objectives of multi-agency guidelines and agreements, as well as the activities of the MISP, to ensure that the potential of midwives can be acknowledged and optimised across the disaster management cycle

Comment je fais… une interruption sélective de grossesse à la pince bipolaire dans une grossesse monochoriale ?

International audienc

Optimal gestational age at delivery for congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the neonatal morbidity and mortality of babies with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) according to gestational age at delivery. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study in the University Hospitals of Antoine Béclère-Bicêtre and Leuven between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2018. Isolated left-sided CDH cases were included. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate cumulative survival at 28 days according to gestational age at delivery. The association between gestational age at delivery, as a continuous variable, and survival at 28 days was modeled using a fractional polynomial. Adjustment for position of the liver, management center, and mode of delivery was performed. The association was studied according to the severity of the CDH, defined by the o/e LHR, categorized in three classes: below 25%, between 25 and 45%, above 45%. RESULTS: We included 213 fetuses with isolated left-sided CDH, with a median gestational age at delivery of 38+2 WG [IQR: 37+0 -39+6 ]. Survival rates at 28 days and 6 months were 66.7% (142/213) and 64.3% (137/213), respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves showed higher survival up to 28 days for babies born between 37+0 and 39+0 WG than for those born after 39+0 WG (log-rank test, p<.001). In the subgroup of moderate forms, the survival rates at 28 days and 6 months were significantly higher for newborns delivered between 37+0 and 39+0 WG, compared to newborns delivered after 39+0 WG: 81.5% vs 61.5% (p=0.03). In this subgroup, 28-day survival significantly increased with advancing gestational age at birth until 38-39 WG (p=0.005) and significantly decreased from 39 WG. CONCLUSIONS: Delivery between 37+0 and 39+0 WG is associated with a higher survival rate at 28 days of life for moderate forms independently of intrathoracic liver, management center, and mode of delivery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.status: Published onlin

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

BackgroundWe previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15-20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in similar to 80% of cases.MethodsWe report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded.ResultsNo gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5-528.7, P=1.1x10(-4)) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR=3.70[95%CI 1.3-8.2], P=2.1x10(-4)). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR=19.65[95%CI 2.1-2635.4], P=3.4x10(-3)), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR=4.40[9%CI 2.3-8.4], P=7.7x10(-8)). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD]=43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P=1.68x10(-5)).ConclusionsRare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old