Output list
Conference poster
Date presented 07/09/2023
Marce Society and Helen Mayo House Joint Perinatal Mental Health Conference 2023, 07/09/2023–09/09/2023, Adelaide, South Australia
INTRODUCTION: Adverse childbirth experience has been increasingly recognised as a risk factor for perinatal mental health problems including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder. Conversely, positive childbirth experience is a predictor of increased maternal self-efficacy a protective factor for child development and parenting capacity. With around 310,000 births each year in Australia, including live births and stillbirths, access to effective intervention to improve the experience of childbirth is an important public health issue. Yet, there is an absence of accessible and cost-effective intervention for women at risk of adverse childbirth experience.
AIM: This study is designed to identify the maternal and infant characteristics of women accessing Sensitive Care Birth Plans (SCBP) at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) in Western Australia. SCBP are the product of a collaborative process between the patient and the clinician in the context of antenatal psychological treatment at the Department of Psychological Medicine. While there is anecdotal evidence of the utility of SCBPs, we first aim to better understand their clinical application by characterising the clinical profile of the women accessing them, with a secondary aim of facilitating future assessment of the effectiveness of this intervention, as well as providing a description of SCBP for application to other service settings.
METHODS: Data will be drawn from 115 patient files identified with SCBPs between 2022 and 2023 at KEMH. Key maternal and infant factors will be identified to inform an understanding of the characteristics of the women accessing this intervention.
CONCLUSION: By understanding the profile of women receiving SCBPs, this study may inform a future pilot designed to assess the effectiveness of this antenatal intervention. This intervention has the potential to provide a model for other services of equitable and effective antenatal intervention to enhance early maternal and infant outcomes in the context of childbirth.