Midwifery
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childbearing is a significant transition, especially for first-time mothers. The objectives of this study were to explore the maternal transition from womens' perspectives and to identify any unmet needs for support. ⋯ providing more information about early pregnancy before conception may enable women to form more accurate expectations of this period. Facilitating contact between pregnant mothers would help them to establish a more appropriate support network prior to the birth.
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to develop a pragmatic service for pregnant smokers. ⋯ this service development provides a pragmatic approach to identify nearly all pregnant smokers at maternity booking, and an opt-out model to refer them to specialist smoking cessation services. Further research is required to establish if extra auxiliary staff in maternity booking clinics can optimise the identification and referral of pregnant smokers to specialist smoking cessation services. This telephone- and clinic-based specialist service engaged 20% of referred pregnant smokers to attend a face-to-face appointment with a specialist smoking cessation midwife. Further research is required to assess if home-based support would engage a greater proportion of pregnant smokers, or if an incentive scheme would achieve the same aim. In total, 117 of 370 (32%) women who set a quit date had quit smoking 4 weeks later, which compares fairly well with a figure of 40% for pregnant smokers in the English smoking treatment services.