Speaker: Prima Kusrini and Karita Aulia Tama
Facilitator: Alifina Izza
Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a global health concern that affects the well-being of both mothers and newborns. Adolescent pregnancy is linked to risk factors that contribute to adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes.
Objective: This review aims to ascertain the factors contributing to adverse adolescent pregnancy outcomes.
Method: The primary databases for the review were PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. From 2020 to 2024, 1103 papers were identified, of which 121 were chosen for full-text review after thoroughly screening and eliminating duplicates. Fifteen studies were included in the review.
Result: An analysis of fifteen articles indicated that adolescent pregnancy is substantially associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, affected by factors including inadequate education, psychological and social pressures, low socioeconomic status, poor nutritional health, harmful behaviors during pregnancy, an unfavorable social environment, and insufficient antenatal care. Improving primary health services for adolescent pregnancy is essential, including the delivery of early sexual education and contraception options.
Conclusion: Adolescent pregnancy is often associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Improving the use of adolescent maternal health services, along with the execution of focused sex education programs and contraceptive methods in families, educational institutions, and primary health care centers, is essential for reducing the incidence of adolescent pregnancies.
Key message: Adolescent pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. By identifying the characteristics that lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes in teenagers, it is anticipated that health education can be delivered to both adolescents and their familial or social contexts to avert these problems.
Speaker: Keeth Mayakaduwage and Billie Bradford
Facilitator: Farah Sajidah
Background: Stillbirth bereavement care is increasingly recognised as essential. Despite guidelines for stillbirth care, gaps remain in bereaved parents experiences of compassionate care. Inadequate education in healthcare curricula may contribute to negative experiences for both families and providers. This survey assesses whether and how healthcare curricula prepare midwives to care for families experiencing stillbirth.
Methods: An international cross-sectional survey, co-designed with subject matter experts, explored midwifery students and recent graduates experiences. Outcomes included educational content and confidence in knowledge of bereavement care, measured from 1.0 (Not confident at all) to 5.0 (Extremely confident). Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed.
Results: Of 127 responses from 14 countries, 87% reported receiving some level of stillbirth education. While 92% had received teaching on stillbirth definitions, only 50% had bereavement care training, and just 43% received education on investigations for stillbirth causes. Confidence was highest for defining stillbirth (4.0) but lower for bereavement care (2.6) and investigations (2.6). Only 42% felt prepared to support families, with 86% expressing a need for more clinical experience and 50% wanting more support in accessing psychological services for themselves. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes, including gaps in structured education, disconnect between theoretical and practical knowledge, workplace support deficits, and system-level barriers to holistic care.
Conclusions: Significant gaps exist in midwifery bereavement education. Strengthening curricula with structured training, greater clinical exposure, and workplace support may help in improving care and reducing provider distress. Urgent action is needed to equip midwives with the skills and confidence to support bereaved families.
Speaker: Carla Godoy
Facilitator: Susana Ku
Las parteras desempeñan un papel fundamental en la salud y el bienestar de nuestras comunidades, pero han enfrentan desafÃos como la falta de reconocimiento, apoyo institucional y oportunidades laborales. Es esencial fortalecer su rol, generar empleo y garantizar el respeto por su labor.
Más que un oficio, ser partera es una vocación que implica acompañar a las madres en momentos cruciales con profesionalismo y seguridad. Sin embargo, a pesar de su importancia histórica, muchas veces no reciben el reconocimiento que merecen. Para cambiar esta realidad, es clave impulsar oportunidades laborales en hospitales, clnicas y programas comunitarios de salud.
La solución pasa por la organización, la creación de redes de apoyo y la búsqueda de alianzas con el sector público y privado. Al unir fuerzas, es posible reducir el desempleo dentro de la comunidad de parteras y asegurar que su labor sea vista como indispensable para el bienestar social.
El camino hacia un mayor reconocimiento y estabilidad laboral requiere compromiso y trabajo conjunto. La unión de las parteras es su mayor fortaleza para lograr que su profesión sea valorada y esencial en la sociedad.
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Midwives play a fundamental role in the health and well-being of our communities, but they have faced challenges such as a lack of recognition, institutional support, and job opportunities. It is essential to strengthen their role, create jobs, and ensure respect for their work.
More than a profession, being a midwife is a vocation that involves accompanying mothers in crucial moments with professionalism and confidence. However, despite their historical importance, they often do not receive the recognition they deserve. To change this reality, it is key to promote job opportunities in hospitals, clinics, and community health programs.
The solution lies in organization, the creation of support networks, and the pursuit of partnerships with the public and private sectors. By joining forces, it is possible to reduce unemployment within the midwifery community and ensure that their work is seen as indispensable to social well-being.
The path to greater recognition and job stability requires commitment and collaborative work. The unity of midwives is their greatest strength in ensuring that their profession is valued and essential in society.
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Speakers: Marjolein Pijnappels and Susana Ku Carbonell
Facilitator: Catherine Salam
The Birth Future International Project explores innovative future scenarios for birth care, grounded in developments shaped by birthing communities and midwives as key agents of change. This study employs a qualitative method approach, integrating traditional participatory research methodologies with innovative, arts-based practices to guide participants through immersive processes of exploration and co-creation. Our cross-cultural sampling includes midwives from the Netherlands and Peru 90 , alongside service users from India, offering diverse perspectives on the evolving dynamics of birth care.
Our data analysis is based on action research analysis. Preliminary data analysis has informed the development of a zine, which synthesizes participant contributions into an accessible, creative format. This zine unveils a transformative vision for birth care, such as different ways of developing perinatal technology (technology for autonomy, rather than control), the role of the community in which birth (care) is embedded, addressing systemic injustice and inequality in global north and south, midwives as educated birth advocates/portals for bridging new ways of (birth) care, those articulated through critical reflections on participants’ lived experiences and current practices. Participants then identified innovative, community-centered care models that emphasize equity, cultural responsiveness, and inclusivity. Furthermore, the preliminary findings underscore the potential of participatory, arts-based research to amplify underrepresented voices and foster critical discourse on the future of maternal and newborn care.
By integrating interdisciplinary methodologies and global perspectives, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on the co-creation of equitable, humane, and sustainable birth care practices.
