Search

Introduction: Preconception care promotes better maternal outcomes, may assist in preventing birth defects and improves fertility awareness among healthy childbearing couples. Yet, the significance of preconception care for infertile couples is undeveloped area of practice in Europe. Aims and objectives: To discuss the importance of nurses and midwives in providing preconception care to infertile couples in the United Kingdom and Spain. Design: Discursive paper. Method: A comparison of different midwifery and nursing approaches to preconception care for infertile couples in two European countries. Findings: At present, infertile couples' needs for preconception care are not routinely identified or understood. There is an opportunity for these needs to be considered and identified by nurses at the time of investigation for infertility or when planning pregnancy with assisted conception. Conclusions: We argue that, by providing preconception care, nurses and midwives have an opportunity to deliver important advice to infertile couples in both primary care and specialist infertility services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To report a systematic review of the psychometric properties of self-report instruments to identify the symptoms of anxiety in pregnancy to help clinicians and researchers select the most suitable instrument. Background Excessive anxiety in pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes, developmental and behavioural problems in infants and postnatal depression. Despite recommendations for routine psychological assessment in pregnancy, the optimal methods to identify anxiety in pregnancy have not been confirmed. Design Psychometric systematic review. Data sources A systematic literature search of the multiple databases (1990-September 2014). Review methods Identification of self-report instruments to measure anxiety in pregnancy using COSMIN guidelines to assess studies reporting a psychometric evaluation of validity and reliability. Results Thirty-two studies were included. Studies took place in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain and the Netherlands. Seventeen different instruments were identified. Measures of validity were reported in 19 papers and reliability in 16. The overall quality of the papers was rated as fair to excellent using the COSMIN checklist. Only one paper scored excellent in more than one category. Conclusion Many instruments have been adapted for use in different populations to those for which they were designed. The State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale have been tested more frequently than other instruments, yet require further assessment to confirm their value for use in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]