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Introduction: The potential benefits of perinatal doula support are many; however, doulas are underutilized, which may heighten pregnancy‐related complications. In this scoping review, we assess the influence of perinatal doula support on pregnancy‐related complications and death in the United States. Methods: We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Alt HealthWatch for literature on doula support and its influence on pregnancy‐related complications (maternal fever or infection, postpartum hemorrhage, amniotic fluid embolism, complications from anesthesia, preeclampsia, eclampsia, cardiomyopathy, pulmonary or thrombotic embolism, and cerebrovascular accident). Peer‐reviewed articles written in English and conducted in the United States from 1969 to 2021 were included. Screening at all levels was blinded. We extracted data based on title, author, year, design, population, sample size, methods, limitations, recommendations, and definition of doula support. Results: Following removal of duplicates, review of 3679 article titles and abstracts yielded 42 articles for full‐text review; 3 articles met final inclusion criteria. One included study focused on intrapartum doula support and 2 on doula support that extended throughout the perinatal period. Within the included studies, doula support was associated with decreased rates of intrapartum maternal fever and gestational hypertension; however, it was not associated with decreased rates of gestational diabetes or depression. Discussion: The literature has addressed the benefits of perinatal doula support, but studies with validated tools to examine associations between doula support and pregnancy‐related complications and death are lacking. The studies that addressed intrapartum and continuous doula care included large generalizable samples, from which future research can draw to improve the practice of caring for patients during the perinatal period. Extensive research shows that unfavorable conditions can influence perinatal outcomes across generations. Implementing doula support may offer a potential approach to reduce and help alleviate resulting disparities in perinatal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early relational health (ERH) interventions can buffer toxic stress and improve the developmental trajectories of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) infants., Purpose: The purpose was to examine the current state of the science related to multimodal, dyadic ERH interventions implemented in the NICU setting in the United States and identify gaps in the current literature., Data Sources: PubMed, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PsycInfo were searched in November 2022 and November 2023 for original studies and conference proceedings from 1970 to present in the English language. Gray literature searches were performed in February 2023 and December 2023., Study Selection: English language, original research, with a focus on multimodal, dyadic ERH interventions that took place primarily in a NICU in the United States were included. Outcome measures could be related to implementation, relational health, or physical and/or mental health outcomes of parent and/or infant. Eighteen of 2021 reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria., Data Extraction: Data were extracted for author, year, intervention, purpose, methods, sample, paternal inclusion, dyadic components, non-dyadic components, and major outcomes/results and distilled for study characteristics, multimodal, dyadic intervention characteristics, and outcome measures., Results: Several multimodal dyadic interventions exist to aid ERH in the NICU, providing evidence of improved outcomes for infants and families. More research is required using higher sample sizes and replication studies., Implications for Practice and Research: ERH interventions show promise in improving neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and maternal mental health outcomes and should be considered for implementation into NICU services., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by The National Association of Neonatal Nurses.)

Systematic reviews have become a key strategy to identifying evidence-based practice guidelines in infection prevention. They are considered the highest level of evidence providing the most effective answers to practice questions. Infection preventionists need to become familiar with reading systematic reviews and learn to critically appraise the findings and implications for practice. A systematic literature review is a rigorous preplanned process established to answer a specific practice question. The preplanned methods are detailed in the final publication. There are several key components that should be outlined in systematic reviews, which are briefly reviewed here., (Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. All rights reserved.)