Descriptive, exploratory and qualitative study, carried out through the Delphi Technique, with a sample of 32 obstetrics specialist nurses working in 3 hospitals and 9 primary health care centers in the district of Oporto, Northern Portugal. The purposes of this work were: 1. to identify a group of nurses' ideas and consensual conceptions about Childbirth Preparation; 2. to know which informati...

What is the best way for first-time parents to prepare for childbirth? Overwhelmingly, women and their partners value formal childbirth education classes, books, and the emerging Internetbased resources. Do these sources meet the needs of first-time parents? We conducted an online survey of 120 participants. We found that participants that had nobody present for continuous support during labor ...

BACKGROUNDS The clinical tumor-node-metastasis (T, N and M) classes of breast cancers provide important prognostic information. However, the possible association of TNM classes with reproductive factors has remained largely unexplored. Because every woman has a reproductive history, implications to outcome prediction are potentially significant. METHODS During the study period from 2002 throu...

BACKGROUND Childbirth fear is linked with lower labor pain tolerance and worse postpartum adjustment. Empirically validated childbirth preparation options are lacking for pregnant women facing this problem. Mindfulness approaches, now widely disseminated, can alleviate symptoms of both chronic and acute pain and improve psychological adjustment, suggesting potential benefit when applied to chil...

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of antenatal education focussing on natural childbirth preparation with psychoprophylactic training versus standard antenatal education on the use of epidural analgesia, experience of childbirth and parental stress in first-time mothers and fathers. DESIGN Randomised controlled multicentre trial. SETTING Fifteen antenatal clinics in Sweden between January 20...

Childbirth is seen as a medical event, and pregnancy, a time when parents-to-be are in need of advice. This article provides a discursive analysis of how such advice is given in antenatal classes. Using audio-recorded data from National Childbirth Trust (NCT) antenatal classes, we analyse how class leaders talk to class members about pregnancy, childbirth and infant care. We identify a pattern ...

BACKGROUND Although medical interventions play an important role in preserving lives and maternal comfort they have become increasingly routine in normal childbirth. This may increase the risk of associated complications and a less satisfactory birth experience. Antenatal hypnosis is associated with a reduced need for pharmacological interventions during childbirth. This trial seeks to determin...