MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing

Intended parents are parents who are intended to receive the baby from a gestational surrogacy pregnancy. They are often not included in routine support practices for families during postnatal care. In this study, members of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses participated in a survey describing care in their practice setting for intended parents. Gaps in services were identified and recommendations are offered to improve care for this unique group of parents.

In this quality improvement project, efforts to promote care of late preterm infants consistent with current evidence and national standards and guidelines were initiated and evaluated in a level III perinatal center in central Illinois. Adherence to the unit policy for late preterm infants over the course of the project improved from 64% of preterm infants receiving appropriate care to 90%, after implementation of electronic record shortcuts, a breastfeeding log, and team education to promote quality care.

Accessing mental health care services for women in rural areas can be a challenge. In this study, pregnant and postpartum women in rural Montana who reported a history of substance use or mental health concerns describe their experiences in seeking and receiving mental health services.

In this study, 236 women who had donated breastmilk participated in an online survey about facilitators and barriers to breastmilk donation. Facilitators reported included positive attitudes toward milk donation, commitment and determination for donating, motivation in donating, and support. Barriers included personal factors, environment, the milk donor process, and psychosocial factors. In general, the women expressed a sense of personal fulfillment and satisfaction in being able to help other mothers and babies by donating their breastmilk.

Researchers examined the affect of adverse childhood eperiences on birth outcomes of 2,343 American Indian and non-Hispanic White women during postpartum in South Dakota from data included in the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. American Indian, when compared to non-Hispanic White women, had higher mean adverse childhood experiences scores, higher levels of prenatal depression, and substantial disparities, which may negatively influence maternal and birth outcomes. Improving perinatal outcomes must emphasize psychosocial care along with medical care to address the high burden of maternal adverse childhood experiences in the United States.

Availability and accessibility of preconception and prenatal genetic carrier and newborn biochemical and genetic screening have grown exponentially over the past two decades and therefore it is challenging for maternity care givers to keep pace. While genetic counseling by an experienced clinician or genetic consultation should be offered to all expectant and new parents for prenatal screening decisions and positive results, benefits and limitations of these tests and results must be known by maternity care givers in the perinatal and pediatric settings. A review of the most recent evidence is presented.