The quality of communication between healthcare providers and pregnant women is a topic of paramount importance within the realm of maternal healthcare. It is not merely an aspect of medical interaction; rather, it is the prerequisite that influences various critical dimensions of maternal care, including maternal satisfaction, health outcomes, and shared decision-making. Effective communication between healthcare providers and pregnant women is essential for optimal maternal care during pregnancy and childbirth. Maternal satisfaction is a fundamental metric of patient-centered care, and improved communication, characterized by empathy, information sharing, and active listening, cultivates trust and enhances women's contentment with their care experiences. Positive provider-patient interactions are associated with improved emotional well-being, reduced stress levels, and increased adherence to prenatal recommendations, contributing to positive health outcomes for both mother and fetus. Shared decision-making is impacted by open and transparent dialogue between healthcare providers and pregnant women. Inclusive discussions about available interventions, risks, and benefits empower women to make informed choices aligned with their preferences and values. This shared decision-making promotes autonomy, self-efficacy, and a collaborative care partnership, potentially influencing the birthing experience and postpartum adaptation. However, challenges persist in communication quality, such as variability in healthcare provider communication styles, cultural considerations, and system-level factors. Addressing these challenges through targeted interventions, training, and policy implementation can further enhance the overall maternal care experience. Further research is needed to explore innovative strategies that optimize communication and promote positive outcomes throughout the continuum of maternal care.Full article

The concept of maternity care satisfaction focuses on women's expectations and results in women having a positive attitude about the care received during pregnancy, childbirth and after birth. The proportion of births to Ghanaian migrant mothers in China is increasing, and there is an increasing demand for information regarding their reproductive health. To reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and death rates, it is crucial for foreign women who use maternity services to be satisfied with their care. Ghanaian women's birth experiences in China might be harmed by language and cultural disparities. Little is known about their experiences in China's homogeneous society. A survey of 317 postnatal Ghanaian foreigners in Zhenjiang, China provided the study's data and was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. The results showed that (76%) of postnatal foreigners were satisfied with delivery care. Though the satisfaction level was high, respondents raised the issues of poor communication (62.8%) and high cost of delivery care (52.4%) as some of the general experiences they faced. Healthcare providers’ strengthening routine monitoring of maternal and newborn health programs will help deliver more woman-centered care.Full article

Women must be aware of the risk factors of pregnancy complications and the negative maternal and fetal health consequences to take preventative measures and management strategies that will result in a successful pregnancy. This study aimed to assess the Level of Knowledge about obstetric warning signs and the associated factors among pregnant Saudi women attending antenatal care in a tertiary care maternity set-up in Riyadh City. Data for this cross-sectional study were obtained using a structured questionnaire from eligible pregnant women admitted to King Saud Medical City (KSMC) between August 2020 and March 2021. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Out of a minimum estimated sample size of 170, researchers recruited 362 participants. As observed, only 92 people, or 25.4%, had enough knowledge about various educational levels. The majority (91.2%) lived in villages, had no history of chronic disease (74.0%), and said that it took them at least 30 minutes to commute from their home to the hospital (69.3%). Two hundred two (55.7%) lacked appropriate knowledge, although most women (76.2%) had one to four pregnancies. Poor psychological health resulted from 37 people's (10.2%) inadequate Awareness. Even though 139 (38.4%) had spent more than 15 minutes receiving education from medical staff and 200 (61.5%) had attended the prenatal care clinic more than four times, most lacked adequate knowledge. The variables education level (P=0.000), working status (P=0.022), and place of residence (P=0.044) showed a statistically significant association with the knowledge level, also only education level statistically significantly affected the likelihood of knowledge gaps. In conclusion, early identification of obstetric warning signs and associated risk factors of pregnancy complications is integral to prevention.Full article

Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has quickly emerged as a global pandemic leading to critical health complications. The possibility and risk of vertical transmission of this virus is still unclear, particularly as it relates to pregnant women and their fetuses. Regarding scientific data, there is insufficient research focused on COVID-19 infection complicated with hydrops fetalis and intrauterine fetal demise. In this study, we report an intra uterus fetal death due to hydrops fetalis and twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) in monochorionic–monoamniotic (MCMA) twin pregnancy associated with mild COVID-19 infection in a 33-week-pregnant woman.Full article

Caesarean section is the most common surgical procedure in obstetrics, but also in pregnant women with dystocia. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that contribute to post-caesarean complications in emergency of gynecology-obstetrics service of Saint Joseph Hospital in Kinshasa. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study and was conducted at Saint Joseph Hospital in Kinshasa city for a month (1^st and 30^th July 2021). A questionnaire was used to collect different data namely socio-demographic characteristics and different variables important for the study. Independent variables were factors related to the parturient and the current pregnancy, the surgical procedure and the operational room. While the dependent variable was post-caesarean complications in gynecology-obstetrics service. Descriptive statistical analyses namely frequency and percentage were done to describe the sample profile. To measure the strength of association between different variables were estimated using Pearson's Chi-Square (X²) test and the p-value was 0.05. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 20 software. The majority of participants are over 33 years of age, have secondary school skills, married and have 3 to 4 children. It was observed that 88.2% of participants have acute respiratory distress prior to caesarean section, 76.6% have a personal history of thromboembolic disease prior to caesarean section. All the participants who underwent caesarean section were victims of external ventilation through the windows of the operating room, which remained open before, during and after the surgery and benefited from antibiotic treatment without any para-clinical analysis before the caesarean section. Furthermore, 82.4% of participants had benefited from the caesarean section with sterilized care materials 48 hours before and after the intervention. While 47.1% of participants had caesarean sections with defective equipment for the operation (use of dry heat sterilization etc.). A better identification of these risk factors can reduce significantly rate of complications and can consequently improve the maternal-infantile prognosis. The obstacles to effective management are related to the provision of quality services.Full article

Introduction: One Key Question® is a patient-centered tool that seeks to understand patient pregnancy intention and counseling. This pilot study aimed to assess implementation of OKQ at an urban healthcare facility and improve understanding of short interpregnancy intervals (IPI). Methods: We describe the implementation of OKQ in our setting using the Diffusion of Innovation Theory as a framework. We broke this up into two phases – the first to assess provider acceptance of the OKQ integration into the clinic workflow and the second to assess how well documentation of OKQ answers occurred in our EMR. Results: Most providers in the first phase reported awareness of the inclusion of OKQ in the EHR, yet most physician providers reported only using OKQ at “some visits” (n=5) compared to the MAs, who reported using OKQ at “every visit” (n=8). Most providers felt that OKQ was an effective method of providing preconception and contraception care for women of reproductive age (n=10). Sixty-four patients completed a survey on OKQ after their visit who identified as young (mean age 28.7), either Black (46.9%) or Hispanic (51.6%) and pregnant (61%). Of those, 83% reported that they were not asked OKQ and 42% reported receiving counseling on optimal IPI. In those patients, 78% had documentation of usage of OKQ in the medical record. Discussion: The implementation of OKQ provided an opportunity to provide standardized preconception and contraception care to our patient population and improve information regarding short IPI. However, challenges existed in implementation which much be overcome to benefit from OKQ. Significance: OKQ has been used successfully in primary care and other settings to assess pregnancy intentions. This article adds to the literature by investigating the implementation of OKQ in a low-resource setting during prenatal and gynecology care. It shares struggles of implementing OKQ in an electronic medical record and how to roll out this program in a setting where pregnancy intention already is including in various forms by our providers.Full article