Maternal perinatal stress is a well-documented risk factor for adverse child outcomes, but limited evidence is available from Latin America. This study investigated associations between maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy and postpartum and infant socioaffective development at 3 months of age in Argentina. The sample included 198…

As rhetorical scholars who regularly teach Communication and Women's/Gender Studies courses at a politically conservative university in the United States, Tasha N. Dubriwny and Kristan Poirot are keenly aware of the ways "Dobbs" has made abortion an all-too-relevant yet equally "dangerous" topic form any gender and/or health…

Understanding prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) risk perception is important for the communication and prevention of alcohol use during pregnancy. A previous systematic review has explored the dimensions and influencing factors of women's PAE risk perceptions, leading to the construction of Pregnancy Alcohol Use Risk Perception (PARP) conceptual…

Purpose: Prior work developed a shortened 16-item version of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a quantitative measure of social communication and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related traits. However, its properties for use in risk factor estimation have not been fully tested compared to the full SRS. We compared the associations between…

Third- and fourth-year U.S. medical students applying to residency were surveyed between August 6 and October 22, 2022, to assess the impact of "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (Dobbs)" on medical student residency application location choices. Across all medical specialties, most respondents were unlikely or very unlikely…

Early Head Start (EHS) serves prenatal families through their home visiting programs, offering support, referrals to services, and help preparing for parenthood. EHS programs individualize services to meet prenatal families' unique needs, yet we do not understand the full nuance of how this individualization occurs. In this study, we sought staff…

Background: During pregnancy, some women with an intellectual disability encounter some challenges, and some midwives who provide them with support lack the knowledge to provide the best care. This systematic review explores the experiences of women with intellectual disability during pregnancy and midwives' experiences of providing care. Method:…

Provision of medication abortion in student health centers is safe and effective, but no public universities in Washington state provide such services. We estimate demand for medication abortion and describe barriers to care among students at four-year public universities in Washington. Using publicly available data, we estimated that students at…

Long before the Dobbs decision, abortion was a fraught topic in communication classes. Post-Dobbs, the disincentives to discussing abortion intensified as a slew of state legislative actions-imposed restrictions not only on abortion access, but also on anything that might be construed as support for abortion. The purpose with this essay is to…

The synthetic control method (SCM) is a popular approach for estimating the impact of a treatment on a single unit with panel data. Two challenges arise with higher frequency data (e.g., monthly versus yearly): (1) achieving excellent pre-treatment fit is typically more challenging; and (2) overfitting to noise is more likely. Aggregating data…

A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the possible association between maternal alcohol drinking during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. Twelve datasets from five observational studies were included. Results showed that maternal alcohol drinking during pregnancy was not independently associated with ASD (risk ratio:…

Artificial placentas (APs) are technologies that mimic the human placenta to treat extremely preterm infants. Being an invasive and risky technology, it will raise important ethical questions for human trials. Hence, in this Topic Piece we provide a blueprint of further issues to investigate. First, counselling will have the double role of…

In the United States, most mothers work during pregnancy. Yet, until the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2022, pregnant employees did not have a right to reasonable accommodations to work under safe conditions. This law is expected to increase employment among pregnant women, making it critical to understand the effects of work…

Purpose: The provision of pregnancy-related information to first-time pregnant women is very critical in addressing maternal mortality and neonatal deaths. This study examines the labour preparation, birth readiness and pregnancy information adequacy of first-time mothers in the Ashanti region, Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: This study…

Purpose: Maternal health continues to be a global health priority. With accessible and affordable maternity-related health education and information, women in low- and middle-income countries, especially, can experience positive pregnancy outcomes. Health professionals across the globe, including midwives, use social media to propagate relevant…