METHODS: The qualitative phenomenological approach involving working mothers in Kota Bharu who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in the study were recruited using purposive sampling. Sixteen participants aged 24 to 46 years were interviewed using semi-structured in-depth interviews in the study. All interviews were recorded in digital audio, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis.
FINDINGS: Three main themes emerged from the data analysis: perception of breastfeeding, challenges in breastfeeding, and support for breastfeeding. Two subthemes for perceptions were perception towards breastfeeding and towards infant formula. Challenges had two subthemes too which were related to perceived insufficient milk and breastfeeding difficulty. Where else, two subthemes for support were internal support (spouse and family) and external support (friends, employer, and healthcare staff).
CONCLUSIONS: Maintaining breastfeeding after return to work is challenging for working mothers and majority of them need support to continue breastfeeding practice. Support from their spouses and families' influences working mothers' decision to breastfeed. Employers play a role in providing a support system and facilities in the workplace for mothers to express and store breast milk. Both internal and external support are essential for mothers to overcome challenges in order to achieve success in breastfeeding.
METHODS: A qualitative phenomenological approach with in-depth interview method was conducted in two tertiary hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia. All women admitted to labour room, obstetrics and gynaecology wards and intensive care units in 2014 were screened for the presence of any vital organ dysfunction or failure based on the World Health Organization criteria for maternal near miss. Pregnancy irrespective of the gestational age was included. Women younger than 18 years old, with psychiatric disorder and beyond 42 days of childbirth were excluded.
RESULTS: Thirty women who had experienced maternal near miss events were included in the analysis. All were Malays between the ages of 22 and 45. Almost all women (93.3%) had secondary and tertiary education and 63.3% were employed. The women's perceptions of the quality of their care were influenced by the competency and promptness in the provision of care, interpersonal communication, information-sharing and the quality of physical resources. The predisposition to seek healthcare was influenced by costs, self-attitude and beliefs.
CONCLUSIONS: Self-appraisal of maternal near miss, their perception of the quality of care, their predisposition to seek healthcare and the social support received were the four major themes that emerged from the experiences and perceptions of women with maternal near miss. The women with maternal near miss viewed their experiences as frightening and that they experienced other negative emotions and a sense of imminent death. The factors influencing women's perceptions of quality of care should be of concern to those seeking to improve services at healthcare facilities. The addition of a maternal near miss case review programme, allows for understanding on the factors related to providing care or to the predisposition to seek care; if addressed, may improve future healthcare and patient outcomes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This mixed-method study aimed to determine the patient's needs to develop a discharge planning for total knee replacement surgery. The needs for 96 total knee replacement patients were assessed using the Needs Evaluation Questionnaire (NEQ). The in-depth interview primary focus was to explore the lived experience of the post-total knee replacement patients receiving care in the hospital.
RESULTS: A total of 96 participants (100%) completed the NEQ questionnaire. Most of the needs concerned by the participants were expressed by at least 70% of them except the financial need (59.4%). The semi-structured interview found two elements which were a support group and patients' needs in terms of emotional, physical and spiritual preparation in developing effective discharge planning.
CONCLUSION: This study clarified that the patient needs assessment in the patient care plan.
METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and MEDLINE for randomized controlled trials comparing metoclopramide with a placebo, no treatment, or other galactagogue drugs. We included breastfeeding women with term or preterm infants.
RESULTS: We retrieved 164 records from our search of the electronic databases and 20 records from other sources. Eight trials involving 342 lactating women that used metoclopramide were included in this review after assessing the eligibility criteria. The meta-analysis of these trials revealed that metoclopramide did not increase the milk volume of the intervention groups compared to that of the control groups. There was a significant increase in the serum concentrations of prolactin when the mothers were administered metoclopramide. No significant adverse events were reported.
CONCLUSION: Metoclopramide did not improve milk production in lactating women. Therefore, we do not recommend using metoclopramide to increase milk production in lactating women.
METHODOLOGY: Total of 13 menopausal women recruited using a combination of purposive and snowball techniques from two sources, tertiary hospital and local communities in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. The in-depth semi-structured interview guided was used to explore how they perceived supports provided by their husbands. The data were then analysed using a thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Five (5) themes have emerged which comprises of emotional, instrumental, appraisal, guidance, and sexual supports. One of which was a new theme (sexual intimacy support) that had not been existed previously in other literature reviews.
CONCLUSION: Majority of menopausal women perceived the supports provided by their husband were negative, rather than positive supports that they had hoped. These findings suggest that an education program tool for husbands as a support person is much needed to ensure women walk through the menopause phase in a more meaningful life.
METHODS: We searched the Central and MEDLINE databases and went through all the reference lists in the related articles. We also searched for ongoing trials at http://www.who.int/ictrp/en/ and www.clinicaltrials.gov. Randomized controlled trials comparing vitamin D supplementation with a placebo or no treatment in pregnant women published in the English language up to March 2019 were included. Two reviewers extracted data independently using a predefined protocol and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, with differences agreed upon by consensus. The predefined primary outcome was the number of offspring who had RTIs. The secondary outcome was the presence of measurable serum immunoglobulin E levels.
RESULTS: Three trials involving 3,224 participants (mother-child pairs) met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The present analysis reported that maternal supplementation with vitamin D had no effect on RTIs among children (n=1,486 offspring; risk ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.82-1.11; random effects; I2 statistics, 0%).
CONCLUSION: Maternal vitamin D supplementation had no effect on RTIs in children. Therefore, consideration of other prevention methods in this regard is recommended.