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Objective: To determine the association between continued antidepressant use in pregnancy and postpartum psychiatric visits for eating (ED) or mood/anxiety disorders in women with preexisting ED. Method: Using Danish health registry data (1998–2015), we identified 3529 pregnancies in women with ED prepregnancy: (i) 564 with continued antidepressant use before and during pregnancy; (ii) 778 with discontinued antidepressants before pregnancy; (iii) 2137 unexposed. Outpatient and inpatient postpartum visits for an ED or a mood/anxiety disorder constituted the outcome measures. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Cox regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting, and performed stratified analyses by antidepressant prescription filling in the first 3 months postpartum. Results: The weighted cumulative incidence for an ED visit at end of follow‐up was 4.5% (continued) and 4.8% (discontinued). We found no association between continued antidepressant and postpartum ED visit, relative to discontinued (HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.52–1.52). The HR for postpartum mood/anxiety disorder visit was 1.27 (95% CI: 0.68–2.36) with continued antidepressants versus discontinued but decreased if more than two antidepressant prescriptions were refilled. Continued antidepressant use was associated with a 57% reduced likelihood of a postpartum ED visit versus discontinued use in pregnancies with antidepressant prescription refills in the early postpartum. Conclusion: Among women with preexisting ED, there was no association between continued antidepressant use during pregnancy and the likelihood of postpartum psychiatric visits, relative to discontinued antidepressants before pregnancy. Continuation of treatment into the early postpartum is associated with reduced likelihood of postpartum ED visit. Public Significance: Based on data from the Danish registries, we identified 3529 pregnancies among women with preexisting eating disorders before pregnancy. Women with continued antidepressant treatment both before and during pregnancy did not have a lower probability of having postpartum psychiatric visits for an eating disorder or for mood/anxiety disorders (often coexisting with eating disorders), relative to those who discontinued antidepressants before pregnancy. Further continuation of antidepressant treatment into the early postpartum is associated with improved maternal postpartum outcomes. However, residual confounding by disease severity limits confidence in this conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate maternal healthcare practices are crucial to both maternal and infant nutrition outcomes. The Sylhet region of Bangladesh is vulnerable and performs poorly, as maternal and child health indicators are falling behind compared to other areas. Suchana, a large‐scale intervention programme aims to improve the health and nutritional status of mothers and children in this region. The objective of the present analysis is to assess the changes in indicators related to maternal healthcare practices among Suchana beneficiaries. We obtained data from the Suchana baseline and endline evaluation survey. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize data. The following maternal healthcare practices were considered: if a Suchana beneficiary mother received antenatal care (ANC) from skilled service providers, took day time resting during pregnancy, consumed additional diet during pregnancy, took at least 100 iron‐folic acid (IFA) tablets during pregnancy and took a vitamin A capsule after delivery. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of the Suchana intervention on maternal healthcare practices. The prevalence of the outcome variables at endline in the intervention area were as follows: 40% of mothers received at least four ANC from skilled service providers, 50% practiced daytime resting during pregnancy, 51% consumed additional diet during pregnancy, 41% took at least 100 iron‐folic acid tablets during pregnancy, 39% received postnatal care and 30% took a vitamin A capsule after delivery. The Suchana intervention significantly, positively improved indicators related to maternal healthcare practices; these findings support future larger‐scale programmes to improve maternal healthcare practices among vulnerable people in rural Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective was to determine if antenatal anemia is associated with postpartum red blood cell (RBC) transfusion.Study Design and Methods: Women who gave birth at a regional, tertiary care maternity hospital between December 1, 2015, and September 31, 2016, with a documented antenatal hemoglobin (Hb) concentration were included. Women were grouped into those who were either anemic (Hb < 11.0 g/dL) or nonanemic. The change in Hb concentration and RBC transfusion rates were compared between the anemic and nonanemic women, as well as by the mode of delivery (vaginal vs. Cesarean). To estimate the volume of blood loss in a normal delivery, the mean postpartum Hb concentration decrease for the not transfused women was calculated by subtracting the nadir postpartum Hb concentration from the antenatal Hb concentration and averaging these concentrations according to delivery route.Results: Of 8039 cases analyzed, 1562 (19%) had antenatal anemia and 6477 (81%) were nonanemic. Of the anemic women, 57 (3.6%) received an RBC transfusion compared to 49 (0.76%) of the nonanemic women (p = 0.0001; odds ratio, 4.97; 95% confidence interval, 3.38-7.31). Antenatal anemia was significantly associated with receiving an RBC transfusion regardless of mode of delivery for those who delivered vaginally (p = 0.0001) or by Cesarean (p = 0.0001) compared to those who were nonanemic. The mean postpartum Hb concentration decrease was 1.12 ± 1.12 g/dL for vaginal deliveries and 1.34 ± 0.21 g/dL for Cesarean deliveries in the not transfused women (p = 0.0001).Conclusion: Although the overall rate of transfusion was low, antenatal anemia was significantly associated with receiving a postpartum RBC transfusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Surveys have shown that women are highly satisfied with their maternity care. Their satisfaction has been associated with various demographic, personal, and care factors. Isolating the factors that most matter to women about their care can guide quality improvement efforts. This study aimed to identify the most significant factors associated with high ratings of care by women in the three maternity periods (antenatal, birth, and postnatal). Methods A survey was sent to 2,048 women who gave birth at seven public hospitals in New South Wales, Australia, exploring their expectations of, and experiences with maternity care. Women's overall ratings of care for the antenatal, birth, and postnatal periods were analyzed, and a number of maternal characteristics and care factors examined as potential predictors of 'Very good' ratings of care. Results Among 886 women with a completed survey, 65 percent assigned a 'Very good' rating for antenatal care, 74 percent for birth care, 58 percent for postnatal care, and 44 percent for all three periods. One factor was strongly associated with care ratings in all three maternity periods: women who were 'always or almost always' treated with kindness and understanding were 1.8-2.8 times more likely to rate their antenatal, birth, and postnatal care as 'Very good.' A limited number of other factors were significantly associated with high care ratings for one or two of the maternity periods. Conclusions Women's perceptions about the quality of their interpersonal interactions with health caregivers have a significant bearing on women's views about their maternity care journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]