Midwifery
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the Malabar Community Midwifery Link Service was developed to meet the needs of women from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in suburban Sydney, Australia. This paper reports the evaluation from the perspective of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who accessed the service. ⋯ further research into ways to ensure that services like Malabar can address issues like smoking in pregnancy and the range of social and emotional issues faced by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families needs to be undertaken. More community-based appropriate services should be developed for these families.
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the goal of women-centred care (WCC) is respect, safety, holism, partnership and the general well-being of women, which could lead to women's empowerment. The first step in providing WCC to all pregnant women is to describe women's perceptions of WCC during pregnancy in different health facilities. The objectives of this study were to ask (a) what are the perceptions and comparison of WCC at Japanese birth centres, clinics, and hospitals and (b) what are the relationships between WCC and three dimensions of women's birth experience: (1) satisfaction with care they received during pregnancy and birth, (2) sense of control during labour and birth, and (3) attachment to their new born babies. ⋯ health-care providers should consider the positive correlation of WCC and women's perception of satisfaction. Every woman should be provided continuity of care with respectful communication, which is a core element of WCC.