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Background:Women are seriously subjected to psychiatric diseases during pregnancy and depression is the most prevailing one among these diseases. There is a relation between the social support and depression in pregnancy whose predisposing factors are genetic, psychological, biological, environmental, and hormonal.Objectives:This study aimed to determine the frequency of depression symptoms, and its risk factors. Also it studied the correlation between social support and pregnancy depression.Patients and Methods:This research is a descriptive cross-sectional study. It was conducted on 266 pregnant women selected by simple random method from all pregnant women admitted at the Maternity Hospital of Trabzon, Turkey from May 21 to June 13, 2008. The data were collected with a questionnaire form, the Beck depression inventory (BDI), and the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS).Results:The mean BDI score of the pregnant women was 11.12 ± 6.65. According to the BDI, 46.2% of the pregnant women had no depression symptoms, 34.59% of them had mild, 13.91% had moderate, and 4.89% had severe level of depression symptoms. It was found that such factors as the educational level of the pregnant women and their husbands, having an undesired pregnancy, suffering from a chronic disease before pregnancy, presence of pregnancy-related problems, having a child with disability or having relatives whose children had disability, and smoking during pregnancy were the risk factors affecting the severity of the depression symptoms and these results were statistically significant (P < 0.05). On the other hand, the mean MSPSS score was 67.89 ± 14.26 and it was found that the pregnant women got the highest social support from their husbands. It was found that there was a significant correlation between BDI and MSPSS total score and its subscale scores (P < 0.05).Conclusions:According to this study, one-fifth of pregnant women were found to experience depressive symptoms, which require treatment during pregnancy, and the factors such as having no support from relatives was found to be associated with the severity of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has adversely affected the physical and psychosocial health of pregnant women and their access to antenatal care and health services. Aim To examine women's pregnancy experiences during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Materials and methods The study was conducted in a qualitative design with 14 pregnant women who were admitted to a state hospital pregnancy outpatient clinic for antenatal control. The data were collected using a semi‐structured individual interview form and were analysed using the thematic analysis technique. COREQ checklist guide was followed in the study. Results The pregnancy experiences of women in the COVID‐19 pandemic were examined under 7 main themes: “physical health, psychosocial health, adaptation to pregnancy, pregnancy follow‐ups, social life, spouse relationship and coping methods”. Pregnant women have both positive and negative pregnancy experiences in the COVID‐19 pandemic. Conclusion The study concluded that the pandemic has affected both the physical and psychosocial health of pregnant women, their social life, marital relationship and access to antenatal care services. Health professionals need to evaluate psychosocial health as well as the physical health of pregnant women, especially during the pandemic, and create a care plan accordingly. Midwives and other health professionals should improve the bio‐psychosocial health of the pregnant/family via telehealth and counselling services.

To investigate the relationship between multigravidas' perceptions of traumatic childbirth (PTC) and their socio-demographic characteristics and the effect of their previous types of birth and experiences on PTC. This descriptive study was conducted in a state hospital in Northern Turkey. The universe of the study consisted of multigravidas. The sample of the study comprised 161 pregnant women determined with G power analysis. The data were collected using the "Pregnant Introductory Information Form" and "Perception of Traumatic Childbirth Scale". The age, gestational week and the number of pregnancy of the participants were 28.27 ± 5.13, 30.45 ± 7.71 and 1.94 ± 1.07 respectively. The average PTC score was 70.57 ± 21.89. 1.9%, 28.6%i 39.1% and 23.6% of the pregnant women perceived their birth as "very low", "low", "moderate" and as "high" traumatic respectively. There was a negative correlation between the average PTC score and the gestational age, the number of pregnancies and the duration of the adverse events and positive correlation between the average PTC score and the number of hospital visits during pregnancy (p <0.05). Compared with those who had cesarean section and no intervention, PTC score was higher in those who had a previous vaginal delivery and interventions. The average PTC score of those planning to give vaginal delivery was higher than those planning cesarean birth (p <0.05). The women who had a chronic disease before pregnancy (p<0.05) and those who had a vaginal birth with only a midwife and were satisfied with her communication had lower PTC scores (p> 0.05). Six out of every 10 pregnant women perceived their delivery traumatic at a moderate / high level. PTC was higher in those having vaginal birth and an intervention previously and planning a vaginal birth again. The early identification of the risk of PTC before pregnancy or early pregnancy and taking precautions are recommended.

Foot reflexology was found to have a positive effect in lowering the total anxiety scores of the pregnant women. Reflexology is a noninvasive and economical method, which may be used by health professionals to reduce problems during labor. A decrease in anxiety experienced at birth improves women's positive birth experiences, promotes a secure mother-infant attachment, and protects postpartum mental health.

AimThe study was conducted to determine the attitudes of midwives and nurses working in a university hospital in the Black Sea Region towards gender roles and influencing factors.

Rationale, aims, and objectives Empathic attitudes and behaviours of midwives directly affect obstetric outcomes. The study aims to examine the effect of empathy training on the empathic communication skills of midwives and the childbirth satisfaction of primiparous mothers. Methods This quasi‐experimental study has two sample groups including midwives working in the delivery unit (n = 15) and mothers giving birth with the help of these midwives (n = 134). Empathy training was given to the midwives through a 32‐hour program involving didactic narrative, creative drama, and psychodrama techniques. A “Descriptive Information Form,” and the “Empathic Communication Skills” and “Empathic Tendencies” scales were used to collect data from the midwives, and another “Descriptive Information Form” and the “Scale for Measuring Maternal Satisfaction in Normal Birth” were used for the maternal data. Results Empathic communication skills and empathic tendencies of the midwives were found to be higher right after and 8 weeks after the training than before the training (P = .001, P = .040, respectively). The total score and sub‐dimensions of the maternal satisfaction scale (ie, midwifery care, respect for privacy, meeting expectations, postpartum care) were found to be higher in mothers giving birth after the midwives' empathy training than those giving birth before (P < .001). A higher level of maternal birth satisfaction was seen in mothers giving birth right after the training (94%) than those giving birth before training (3%). Conclusion The empathy training improved both the empathy skills of midwives, and translated to improved maternal satisfaction with birth among their mothers. It is recommended to increase the number of follow‐ups to evaluate the long‐term effect of empathy training.

INTRODUCTION Midwives experiencing traumatic births are emotionally affected by this process, lose their self-confidence, and may intend to leave the profession. This study aims to carry out a meta-synthesis of current qualitative research exploring the experiences of midwives witnessing traumatic births. METHODS The meta-synthesis consisted of 18 full-text studies in English, obtained from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases. The results of the studies were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique. The study includes qualitative, mixedmethod, and full-text studies published between 2000 and 2020 that explored the experiences of midwives and obstetric nurses witnessing birth trauma. RESULTS The thematic analysis identified seven themes: post-traumatic feelings, posttraumatic stress symptoms, the impact of trauma on professional values, social support, learning from experience, legal process, and reflection of emotions of women experiencing traumatic birth on the midwife. CONCLUSIONS Midwives who witnessed traumatic birth were mostly emotionally affected. They lost their self-confidence and intended to leave their profession. They emphasized the importance of peer support through which they could share their experiences after trauma. Psychological education should be provided to midwives who witness the trauma by specialists, and midwives should be strengthened against the effects of trauma in terms of both the institutional policies where the birth takes place and midwifery-specific legal policies.